Daily Devotional

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came for testimony, to bear witness to the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness to the light.

The true light that enlightens every man was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world knew him not. He came to his own home, and his own people received him not. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God; who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth; we have beheld his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.

My favorite moments of Christmas Eve are listening to O Holy Night and then getting to stand next to my mom as we all sing, Silent Night. Both carols help me to experience the true meaning of Christmas. O Holy Night shares the message that the birth of Jesus delivers the world from oppression and sin. Silent Night speaks to the peace, quiet, and holiness of the night that Christ was born. It might seem that the two contradict each other, Silent Night being about the quiet and stillness, and O Holy Night is talking about the angel voices and our voices singing hymns of joy. But both songs show how Christmas was then and is now…

One of my favorite childhood memories of Christmas is the church candy bags given out at the small church where I grew up. Every year on the Sunday closest to Christmas, children and adults alike were handed a brown paper bag as they left church. I loved the crinkle of the bag as I opened it, eager to see what treats were inside. There would always be an apple and an orange, raw walnuts, pecans, almonds, and always a few funny-looking Brazil nuts. Iusually gave the fruit and nuts to my grandma. I was interested in the real prizes: hard Christmas candies and a candy bar, seemingly either a Mounds or an Almond Joy.

The origin of this tradition is not clear, but some historians trace it back to the 18th century, when German immigrants brought the custom of giving fruits and nuts to their children on Christmas Eve…

As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. – Psalm 42:1

When listening to my favorite Christmas carol, O Holy Night, I tend to hear the beauty in the lyrics worshiping God: Fall on your knees and Let all within us praise His Holy Name are two of my favorite lines. In fact, that’s what I initially planned to write about.

But then something new stuck out to me. Something that has always been there, but chose to reveal itself to me as I was writing.

Long lay the world, in sin and error, pining
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.

The soul felt its worth. How often do we question our worth in this world? Our worth in our relationships, our abilities, our identity?

About two years ago, I came across a children’s book entitled Be Kind that I purchased on a whim. It has made its way into a regular rotation of nightly reading with our girls.

In the book, the child narrator is describing ways that you can be kind to others: “You can listen to Aunt Franny’s stories (even though you have heard them 1,000 times before)” and last night this spurred a thought for me.

Oftentimes my husband, grandparents, etc. will tell me stories over and over again…

rs, it opens up our capacity for joy.

This made me think of the line in O Holy Night, A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices. I want to focus specifically on the latter part of this line, the weary world rejoices. I have to think that when faced with seemingly all of the world’s problems, Angela Williams can at times feel weary. Yet she continues to choose joy…

I have been blessed to lead two St. Luke’s trips to the Holy Land. My favorite places to visit are the Sea of Galilee and surrounding areas. They are not only more rural settings, but they are less crowded and quieter. When you visit holy sites in Jerusalem, there are more people and I find it a bit more difficult to have a reflective moment amidst the noise and busyness. But, the noise, people, and busyness were all part of life during the time of Christ.

Whenever we imagine the “perfect Christmas,” we sometimes think of a quiet scene where everything in the house is perfectly in place, perfectly decorated, and perfectly serene. But is that really the goal of Christmas, let alone realistic?

My husband and I have recently set a goal to visit as many state and national parks as we can. We have had all sorts of amazing adventures that have included day trips to parks nearby and longer road adventures to national parks on our bucket list.

Our recent trips have taken us to the Hoodoos of Bryce Canyon National Park and the desolate fields of pinon, cliffrose, and mesquite throughout the Mojave Desert leading into Zion National Park. One thing that was extra special was recently viewing the Harvest Moon from the absolute darkness of an isolated national park. I think my city living had made me forget what it is like to see a night sky in a really dark place. Absolutely amazing! It took my breath away to see so much when there was not one artificial light around, only the reflective light from the moon and stars!

I have a confession to make: I have not once, in all of my Advent Seasons with St. Luke’s, lit a single candle on the Advent wreath. It is not because I don’t love the practice or celebration of Advent, or even that I am forgetful. The truth is that I am currently in the season of my life where I have a wild 2-year-old and a brand new baby who have blessed our family immensely. With that comes my full attention to the point where I am not even sure how we will resurrect our tree this year, much less take a moment to reflect on the birth of our Savior with the intimate lighting of our precious candles…

My mom was one of 10 children, so I have many aunts, uncles, and cousins. Some of my favorite Christmas memories are when we gathered at my grandparent’s modest home to celebrate. We’d have a turkey dinner, prepared by my grandmother and the other women in the family. I always sat at the “kid’s table” and loved sharing a meal with my cousins. This time spent with family was priceless!

Our family had these annual gatherings at the request of my grandmother, the true matriarch of the family. She was a kind, loving woman and lived her life by the Bible. My grandfather was the fun one, always looking for ways to entertain others. He liked playing games and enjoyed practical jokes. They both loved spending time with family!

My grandparents were married over 50 years and endured struggles with finances, health, and other challenges…