All the stockings were hung by the chimney with care in hopes that your (in)courage staff would give away their favorite DaySpring products. Wait, what? That’s not how the classic story goes!
Yeah, we know. But we thought this version would be just as fun!
Christmas is around the corner and we truly can’t tell you how our hearts glow with the warmth of a thousand twinkly lights when we think of you, our (in)courage community. You, our sisters, who click on the daily email that arrives in your inbox. You, our friends, who follow us on Facebook and Instagram, adding to the conversation with your comments and likes. You, our kindred spirits, who share your me-too stories here on the blog, faithfully rallying around one another with your own words of encouragement and powerful prayers.
You are the heartbeat of (in)courage. As a team, it is our joy to serve you.
So as a Merry Christmas from our hearts to yours, we thought it’d be festive fun to share with you our staff’s favorite DaySpring products — and then give each one away!
Little drummer boy drum roll, please . . .
Lisa-Jo loves the Map of the World – Wooden Tray
This tray sits on my kitchen counter and reminds me that home isn’t just a country, it’s always the people seated around my table — no matter where they come from. Because we are always better together. This South African girl and her Michigan boy and the kids we’ve had in every place we’ve lived. This tray is a reminder that the world is both bigger and smaller than we realize. And that home is always more than four walls or a zip code. And that there’s a God who unites us all, no matter how near or far away we live to one another. We’re always at home in Him.
Mary loves the Nativity Hurricane Candle Holder Trio
I love this set and I recommend it to all my friends! It’s the “crown jewel” of my collection of nativity sets during the holidays, but to be honest, I keep it displayed somewhere in my house pretty much year-round. After all, there’s no bad time for candlelight or a reminder to seek Jesus. (Plus, it’s so pretty and matches just about every kind of decor.)
Anna loves the Thankful/Merry Christmas Wooden Box with Reversible Signs
This beautiful box sits in the center of my dining room table, and we keep our kids stash of devotionals and Bibles in it! When they’re done eating, they can choose their book and stay seated at the table (in theory. You know.) It’s a beautiful centerpiece and I love that for most of the year, it will say ‘thankful’. Because when we’re gathered around our table, we are always thankful.
Denise loves the God’s Heart for You – Sterling Silver Necklace
The pendant for this necklace has four words engraved: created, chosen, celebrated, cherished. I’ve given this necklace to each of my daughters, because I want these very words draped around them, close to their hearts, so they’ll always know, that they are indeed created, chosen, celebrated, and cherished.
Becky loves the Strength, Hope, Trust, Faith – Stoneware Mugs, Set of 4
One of the favorite parts of my day is wrapping my hands around a hot cup of coffee (with plenty of Italian cream, please) and taking a moment to breathe. So a mug that looks beautiful and also offers a dose of soul encouragement is top on my list of simple pleasures and favorite gifts. I got this set of mugs and let my mom and two sisters each choose one. Now every morning as I enjoy my steamy drink, I read the words inscribed inside my mug — “Trust in the Lord with all your heart” — and make them a prayer over my family and my day.
You are our favorite people and these are our favorite things — so we’re giving each one away!
Five gifts, five winners! To be entered to win, just leave a comment telling us what makes your heart warm with gratitude this Christmas. (Giveaway will close at midnight Central Time, on December 20, 2017. Contest open to U.S. residents only. Winners will be contacted by email.)
We hope YOU win!
Merry Christmas,
Your friends at (in)courage
My heart is warm with gratitude when I reflect on the wonder of this Advent season in the quiet moments of the morning or evening-sitting by myself in my living room, the only light from our Christmas tree and a single candle that crackles as it burns as I watch snowflakes float down from the sky outside. It is an oasis of peace in an otherwise frenetic season and my soul craves this respite where I can be just be still and listen for God’s voice.
My heart is warm when I am surrounded by my family and friends with all the laughter, food of course, and the kids playing together. We laugh about things of this year and cry over the ones we lost this year. We play silly family games and make some new memories. We are blessed
My heart is warm with gratitude when I spend time with my Christian girlfriends sharing our lives
Tina
My heart is warm with gratitude because I know that I know that I am a daughter of the King of Kings and He knows my name, my needs, my situation, my concerns, my family, my desires, and He cares about it all! I don’t have to tell Him what to do He is in control and as my Father I can be at peace knowing that He is with me in every step of my journey with Him!
My heart is so full of gratitude when I am sitting alone with Him in the quiet of the morning, praising Him for providing for my every need, thanking Him that He is my soul’s oxygen, the One who gives me life and purpose and fullness of joy.
With the very recent loss of my youngest sister to cancer, I am especially grateful for the close friends & family God has surrounded me with during this difficult time.
Bless you Tara during this sad time. I lost my youngest sister to cancer two years ago this Christmas. She was my best friend and constant companion for the 56 years of her life. She is greatly missed each and everyday but God’s grace has made me grateful to know that she is in His presence and we will rejoice in our reunion one day.
Rhonda & Tara, my heart hurts for both your losses. May the God of all comfort, and whomever He would use with skin on, hold you tenderly and hug your hearts in ways that are personally significant to you.
I too lost a dear sister Nellie on Christmas day some years ago. I like to think that now she is with our parents and the rest of our family preparing a place for me… the young one… to join them. As I am now 87 years of age they may not have long to wait as I had a heart attack last year. I am now in God’s healing hands
Ronda,
Sweet sister! I’m praying for you during this difficult time. May God comfort & encourage you each & everyday. I pray you find peace & rest in our Savior this Christmas!
(((((Hugs)))))
Tara,
So sorry for your recent loss! Praying for peace & comfort during this time! Praising God for sending some good close friends to help guide & encourage you during this difficult time!
(((((Hugs)))))
Friends,
To be honest this season has been… something else. With so many changes and a new season approaching, something that has kept my heart warm with gratitude this Christmas season is remembering that I don’t deserve any of the things that God has blessed me with. I don’t deserve a roof over my head, nice clothes, fancy food or even a “thank you” for the different tasks I do… learning that He alone is the only family and comfort I truly need. Drawing into Him and calling on His Name. Knowing that the only reason I have been blessed with the relationship I have with Him is because He sent His Son, my Savior Jesus Christ, to die for my sins. Knowing and learning that He has been, is and will ever be the only constant in my life, has given me a sense of strength and foundation. Though He is constantly moving, shifting and molding me for His purpose… that has filled my cup to the BRIM with gratitude this year. Thank you for listening. God bless.
This side of Heaven,
Summer Rae
(in)courage,
Good morning friends. What makes me warm with gratitude? The constant presence of my Savior – no matter what changes in my life….He is always my North, my rock, my refuge. I am also SO grateful for the community of women here who support, uplift, encourage, and pray for one another. What a delightful place to visit each morning. I own two of the staff favorites (the hurricane trio and the cherished necklace). I guess you could say I like DaySpring’s offerings 🙂
Advent Blessings,
Bev xx
Snuggling on the couch watching Christmas shows with my children and husband in the evening after I get home from work makes my heart all warm and fuzzy with gratitude.
I’m so grateful for my family. My husband and I prayed for a son for almost four years before God brought us a son and a daughter through foster care. It will never be lost on me how God has made beauty from the ashes of our brokenness. Last Christmas God blessed us with another son, a precious gift we never expected. My husband and my children bring me so much joy, and I’m so thankful God brought us all together!
Sitting around with my kids doing our Advent devotional.
My heart is warming now as I prepare for my family to travel in this weekend to celebrate Christmas in my home in south Louisiana….a younger brother with advanced stage cancer and an aging father with lung cancer and copd only make me treasure our time this year together soooo much more. I’ll have a house full of kiddos decorating Christmas cookies, my parents to enjoy watching them all opening gifts/treasures, and fun times with my brother and sister and their families. Undoubtedly, my mother will passionately read the Christmas story in Luke as always…..
Oh! And my heart warms each afternoon at Christmas time when I rush to the mailbox to receive lots of precious Christmas cards from family and friends this Advent season!!
Merry Christmas to all….
Andree – My brother is also defying terminal cancer odds and celebrating another Christmas this year and it can surely make for bittersweet moments. I’ll be praying for the sweetest of times with your dad, brother and entire family that make you smile for years to come
My heart is most filled with gratitude when I see my children laughing, sleeping and when they give me hugs. 🙂 I know I am tremendously blessed and I try not to take it for granted.
My heart is most filled with gratitude when I have A Moment To Breath. Time is passing so quickly and life can become chaotic. A Moment to Breath infuses my soul and helps me to regain what is important.
Each January I ask God for one word that HE knows I need to meditate on, truly understand and own in the coming year. This year’s word is Beloved and, as usual, He has blown me away with the truth that He calls me His beloved. He came 2000 years ago to break the power of sin and to give abundant life and He’s coming again as my groom to claim me, His bride. I’m so grateful for the good, the bad and the ugly of this past year that has thoroughly convinced me of the depths of His love, shown me what it is to Be Loved and call me as His beloved. And I’m so grateful for His thoroughness in completing this heart work and setting this truth deeper into my soul even in the last few days and hours of the year.
Grateful for so many blessings in my life mostly the Circle of Love that Jesus was born and died to save us.
Grateful for good health, the love and joy my grandbabies give me.
Merry Christmas and thanks for the chance to win.
My Christmas Baby and I’m so grateful for concert reminder I have two sisters and Mary’s delivery of my deliverer
My heart warms with gratitude when I realize how much God loves me. I have a beautiful family and now I am blessed with six amazing grandchildren. My hea r t overflows. I am thankful that I live close to at least three of those sweet babies and I get to participate in their growing up. I am grateful to be able to travel to visit the other 3 for the holidays and surprise them. Christmas time fills me wonderful memories that I do no take for granted.
When at the end of the day, you stop to count & focus on your blessings & what DID go right that day vs the struggles & what went wrong. When you change your perspective to focusing on Jesus & not self, there is ALWAYS a change in your heart & your gratefulness overflows!
I’m so thankful for my family and for a Saviour!
My heart swells when I see my children comprehend the meaning of the season. When they celebrate the birth of our savior and have joy on their face by giving, not just receiving.
I’m grateful for my fiancé. He is the most amazing man. He encourages me when I’m down and believes in me when no one else in my life does.
This season I’m so thankful that I will be spending it with my family and in my new home.
My heart is warm with gratitude when I see people doing kind things for others. God’s love shines through in this broken world. Thank you, God, for every little blessing. Be there for those who may need a little extra love this season! It really doesn’t take much to brighten someone’s day.
This Christmas I am particularly grateful for family and the amazing things God can do with families when we leave Him to do what only He can do. We have had a rough last three years and during that time my husband and I have been separated, had our first child and we’re now expecting our second in a matter of weeks. We are back together, working through things and I am so grateful to God that in spite of having been married for 15 years before we had our first child (many pregnancies in between), that it was ultimately His timing for us and it was indeed, perfect timing.
I pray this holiday season that you encounter Christ and His love. God bless you.
Seeing the joy that fills my children’s hearts this magical time of year makes my heart warm with gratitude this Christmas. It is such a special time of year for our family; we welcomed baby number 3 on November 21 and celebrate the birthdays of our 2 other children in December. It’s a hectic time, but I am so thankful for the special memories with my children. I am blessed!
My heart is warm with gratitude for so many, many reasons. First and foremost is the fact that Jesus loved us enough to die on the cross for our sins, even though there is nothing we could do to deserve it. Because of that, we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever!
On a different note, my boyfriend proposed on a Black Friday, so I am spending this Christmas as an engaged woman.
Woo Hoo! Congratulations, Allison!
This year, the Christmas season has been a healing balm to my soul. Many changes these last five years made me numb to celebrating Christmas each year, but thanks to a new position and people in that position celebrating Christmas in a BIG way, I’m learning it’s okay to let go of the hurt and forgive. That is my word for 2018. Forgive. I can’t explain it, but I’ve received multiple gift cards and cash gifts this season where I’ve been for only four short months. I never saw myself as worthy. The Lord is stitching up this jagged-edged heart as He reminds me what life is really about.
I am so grateful this season to be able to have both my adult children with me as well as my 86 year old mother as we will be able to celebrate Christmas together. What a blessing to have our family together.
Children always feel my heart with Christmas warmth. After “a word for children “ each Sunday morning, they scurry off to children’s church with such enthusiasm. Also joyfully they take cans all over the sanctuary collecting “dimes for meals” with eager simplicity & joy. Christ said “unless you become as a little child you shall not enter the kingdom of God” & may the Christ Child stir us on to do so even now.
I am extremely grateful that God does not give up on me! I am grateful that He has given me the gift of Holy Spirit so that I may receive His guidance.
Y’all, I’m grateful for our God who breathes another new day each morning as I watch the sunrise with my steamy cup of coffee and love to see nature come alive before my eyes! Birds eating, along with frosty trees and glistening plants . Faithful & True.. is our Lord.. May his peace, love and Joy live in your hearts and in your homes! Merry Christmas dear sisters in Christ;)
I am grateful to God that I know He had a an for me all along. I have been able to help others through my experiences.
I cherish the cards and letters from friends and family. As a flight attendant I am working and they help me not to be lonely while I am on the road away from my family so that others can be with theirs.
My heart is warmed by the sound of my boys (er . . .young men) laughing together. Even the ones who are married and have moved away join in the generalized rowdiness when they’re all together again, and the loving chaos is music to my ears.
Having lived overseas for several years, the gift of being close to family this year is what warms my heart. This season of our lives is a gift.
My heart is warmed at Christmas by thinking about the love of Jesus and by spending time with family and friends!
I am tremendously grateful for all the blessings God has given and continues to give me: my faith in His plan, my wonderful family, and my friends! Also for good health! I am new to Bible Journaling, but super excited to get deeper into it! Wishing you all of God’s blessings, especially peace and happiness!
I am so grateful that God has chosen to bless us with a miracle baby in just a few more weeks!!
Even when I am at my darkest, when I feel lost and hopeless, God is there, whispering “It will all be ok, my child. I am with you.” I am filled with gratitude and humbled to the core when I look back and realize I am never alone, that His hand is in every corner of my life: big and small, happy and sad, bright and dark.
With a grateful and thankful heart for the gift of our Lord Jesus Christ and the wonderful sisters and brothers I find on this cite. May God our Father bless us and keep us all.
Thankful for my family and the true meaning of Christmas. Christ’s birth. God’s gift of redemption to us.
My heart is warm with gratitude that all of my children are home for Christmas. It is the gift that truly keeps on giving!!
My heart is warm when I reflect at the newness of my life as a single mom. Instead of focusing on the pain, I witness new traditions of reading books in bed all snuggled together, dinners with sharing about our days, and making new memories. My boys have brought me happiness and joy in a time of darkness and devastation. Each morning I’m blessed to drink my hot coffee and read incourage…this is my true warmth. Moments with Jesus every morning.
My heart is warm with gratitude when I take a few minutes to simply sit still and recenter on God and His incredible love for us. It all starts with his love for us!
Watching all the Christmas movies. Seeing the joy in people that just isn’t there the rest of the year.
I am grateful that God is seeing me through a time of many changes and that part of my family will be able to make the 3,000 mile trip to be with us as we celebrate our Saviors birth
My heart is warm with gratitude for the opportunity to choose calm trust over chaotic pressure. God could have created me without an option, but He did not. By His grave I get to choose whether I will sit at His feet in expectation of Him during Advent or whether I will get on the crazy train of derailed desires with those who do not yet know Him. As I sit with Him this morning my heart is warm with gratitude for Him, the God who is with us, our Emmanuel.
I love the Christmas season and I am grateful for the beautiful measages on “waiting” that our pastor has been sharing over the last few weeks. I am also grateful for family and friends who understand that even though it’s been almost 14 years since I lost my mom, I still live in the tension of joy and sorrow during the holidays. I’m grateful that the waiting is not in vain. Jesus will come again and all sorrow and pain will be no more.
Grateful He came and dwelt with us. This is such a great idea and I love seeing the different things people keep in their homes, how they love them and use them. Just discovered (in)courage this year and have gleaned much from your wisdom. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.
I find myself, despite myself, thankful for His timing. Oh, how I rail against it sometimes, but in my heart of hearts I know that I know that I know that His plans are always better than mine. Seasons of waiting are hard. Doing so expectantly even harder. But He knows exactly what I need, when I need it. And He provides. Abundantly. Perfectly. Just like His love, from the very beginning of time. I’m thankful for his constant whispers and occasional shouts of, “I love you. Just as you are. You are mine.”
My mother unexpectedly passed away this December 4th. So while this is a very difficult time, it is also a time of thankfulness. I know she is now with her Lord and Savior and I will see her again.
Carol, my heart hurts with you. Such a raw wound… Sending you a hug and just prayed for you.
Thank you so much for your prayers. It is a very sad season of life, yet we have so much that we are thankful to God for!
I am praying with you, dear one. This is the same day my husband passed. So many tears, so much joy. Only through Him.
Jane, if I could give you a big hug I would. I’m so sorry for the loss of your husband. Your loving heavenly Father is always with you no matter what… never forget that.
What makes my heart warm with gratitude this Christmas? Spending our evenings reading through our devotional during Advent. Deep gratitude that during this season of financial hardship, the weather has been warmer than normal which will help with our electric bill.
Every moment we are given with friends, relatives, and even strangers is a moment for gratitude. The older I get, the more I realize how precious each breath is. Our God has given us these moments and breaths for His purpose – let us bring Glory to His name, sharing Christ where we are, and humbly loving others.
I am so grateful for the million miracles God pours out on us every day but, especially thankful for the gift of my Dad’s recovering health after many complications following his surgery and treatment.
What makes my heart warm this Christmas season is the reason for the Season the birth of our Lord which my 4 year old Grandson is just learning about. To see his wonder and awe around the Nativity Set.. warms my heart! Merry Christmas to all!
My heart is warm with gratitude with a feeling of anticipation of all that .God has in store for my family. Even in a season where I’ve been struggling with anxiety and depression He is constantly reminding me of his faithfulness , his promises, and the truth that He’s not finished with my family yet. The wonder and beauty of this time of year is Christ my Savior. Praise his name!
I am so grateful to you at (in)courage for your daily email that picks me up and draws me closer to God. I am new to your email, and have been so blessed by it daily. Thank you.
I am also so grateful for special friends that surround me all year long.
I love all of your favorite things – what wonderful gift ideas! I hope you will all share where to get these; I have friends with birthdays coming up next year!!
Ahh, I see the links now for where to get your favorite things. Thank you.
I am filled with gratitude as I gaze at the lights on my Christmas tree, in the stillness of a cold, dark morning, and am reminded that He was born to bring light to the darkness. Jesus Christ truly is the light of my world.
I am so full of gratitude every time I look at my husband. He is such a good man. His heart is God focused and I love that.
As I sit in the winter morning darkness with the fireplace on and the wind howling outside, I am blessed to have this quiet time to read God’s word and reflect on His goodness. I am thankful for these daily words from the many authors at InCourage. I am blessed to have family members who are healthy, a husband I adore, and children and grand children to love and spoil. God has richly blessed my life and I am so very thankful and grateful for His love. Merry Christmas everyone!
My heart is filled with gratitude knowing whatever is happening in our lives God is with us and promises never to leave or forsake us.
I have some decisions to make and I’m so grateful that I don’t have to rely on my ability to make the right ones. I’m grateful that the Lord loves us enough to guide us.
Without a doubt, the last two years have been some of the hardest of my life. It’s taken me this long to really confront the situation and feel more at ease because sometimes I take to fooling myself into being “just fine” with my circumstances. But if there’s anything I am learning through all of this, and anything I am grateful for, is that God can handle my place of uncertainty. My state of ingratitude. And, friends, I have had many ungrateful moments over these last several years. However, there’s nothing like a God who never leaves me to bring that ungratefulness full circle to show me again what it means to give thanks. Sometimes it feels “too soon” to speak, but the last week I have heard or witnessed more wonder than I have ever seen before. Reminders that, when I try to reason everything away, there is really a greater plan at work. I’m grateful, this Advent, for eyes to see. Because I think I’ve been walking blind for quite some time.
My heart is warm with gratitude when I watch my 3 grandchildren hang ornaments on my tree. They bring so much joy to my world and I am so grateful that I get to see them and spend time with them.
What warms my heart with gratitude at Christmas is looking across my dining room and kitchen tables Christmas morning as they are filled with friends and family for our annual brunch. We invite anyone we find who has no where to go on Christmas. Over the years we have hosted single gals and guys with no close family, college students who couldn’t get home for Christmas, neighbors and friends who couldn’t be with extended family due to a bad snowstorm, and anyone we find who needs a place to gather. No one should be alone at Christmas. Some come year after year. Some come just once. But my heart is full as we fill their Christmas morning with food, laughter, memories, and love.
When my kids do random acts of kindness on their own without any prompting.
My heart is warmed with gratitude this season thinking of how greatful I am for my family. I was told I would never have children and here I sit 19yrs today in my marriage with 5 healthy boys! I have a lot to be thankful for and lately I’ve been thinking more and more about everything as my oldest is graduating this year and my youngest will be entering kindergarten. God is so good!
I’m grateful for dear friends that I can walk through life with, who extend a Jesus-kind-of mercy and grace and love me for me.
Family and Friends
I am grateful for family and friends who share their love and support with each other in times of need. I am grateful that God has made me one of His Beloved and loves me more than I could love myself. Thank you Jesus! Praise the Lord!
To be honest this season i forget that i have so much to be grateful for. I lost my mother unexpentantly. My father moved to the otherside the country. My grandmother is angry (she lost her daughter ~ no one wants to outlive their children). My brother just “checked out”. Something that has kept my heart warm with gratitude this Christmas season is the support of my tribe. I have an awesome group of people that come around me when i need it most. I have my children that do the same; whether they realize it or not.
My heart is full of gratitude for friends this year. Not only have I become a new subscriber of incourage.me, but I have started meeting for breakfast once a month with two friends that I have known for many years. We have wondered what took us so long to do something like this, but we are cherishing the morning times we spend together. God is good to bless us with family and friends with whom we share a bond in Christ.
I am so grateful for a heavenly Father who has made provision for mankind through the birth and , yes, the death of His only begotten Son, that we all have the opportunity to spend eternity with Him one day. In a chaotic, scary world, I give thanks for knowing I am never, ever, alone and that I am always always loved. Thankful for the deep peace I can have in all life’s circumstances, and also thankful for family, friends, church and seasons such as this to celebrate God’s goodness.
My heart is warm with gratitude this Christmas as I spend time with our family. Since the recent deaths of our youngest son, my youngest sister, our brother in law and dear life-long friend, we know to appreciate and treasure each moment we have with our loved ones on this side of heaven and the hope we have in Christ’s love and salvation.
What warms my heart this season with overwhelming gratitude?There are so many things. I am so blessed to have my family back in my life.as well as my friends. Yet of most importance is God back in my life…i know he never left me and it was me that was lost. Lets just say a bad relationship is why i had nobody for many years. Now i have everybody and i walk with God daily as he offers me so much encouragement no matter what. I could write a book but is best i close with Thankyou God for everything
I am so grateful for my seventh child, a precious daughter, born one month ago. God gives such precious gifts.
Each morning when I awake, I grab my coffee then sit and read my prayer books !
A moment to Breathe, Jesus Calling, etc. Christmas Season especially when we have so much on our list to do, I love to start my day with prayer!
Blessings!
My heart is warm with gratitude as I sit in the dark by the light of the Christmas tree and reflect on how God moved us miraculously cross country just a few weeks ago. Now we live near grandparents for my son and are able to have regular fellowship with other believers. I am thankful for God showing me that He is my provider and Good Father.
I am so very grateful to serve a God who loves me enough to never give up on me. I was a prodigal daughter for several years, yet God was always there with me. He kept putting people in my way until I finally woke up, repented, and accepted His merciful grace. I pray I can now be someone He uses to put in a prodigal’s path to bring them back to a full relationship with Christ.
What makes my heart warm at Christmas time is how my husband friends have taken us both in to live with them while by hubby in school and I am currently looking for work.also what makes me warm at Christmas time is the organization new hope for kids. thanks for giving us a chance to win.
This year my heart grows warm any time I’m with those I love. I think as the years go by, things become less important as the people in my life become more treasured and precious. Lately, I’ve just been in awe that God in His kindness would bless me with my three boys and husband… I’m reminded of His grace and love with every smile and laugh. They make life the absolute best.
It takes me a whole lot longer to come up with Chrtistmas lists when my people ask me because as Mariah Carey so gloriously puts it… “All I want for Christmas is you.” 🙂
I am full of gratitude for my husband and daughter! They are truly wonderful and I’m thankful that God allows me
to see them that way most days (: And that even though I am a mom I still miraculously manage to get time with the Lord most mornings! Such a gift! I am also so thankful that after 13 years of praying my mom is coming to church and moving to accept Christ! God’s timing is perfect. And now for my dad… (:
I try to take time throughout the week to thank God for all the ways He has shown me His love. Sometimes its through blessings, but other times its through hardship where I know He is drawing me closer to Him. At Christmas, it always comes down to the simple things that warm my heart with gratitude. Family, food and the love of my Savior!
My heart is full of gratitude for my Lord and Savior, my family, my friends, and the beauty of my quiet mornings by the Christmas tree reflecting on all my blessings. I’m also thankful for devotions like incourage that speak into me each day and I love to share them with others. Merry Christmas.
I’m grateful for this season, for a child that was born to save the world. As I reflect on the many blessings we’ve been given and the laughter and joy running through our home, I’m filled with gratitute. I’m filled with hope and with promise, that in the craziness of today, God is sovereign in it all.
Last year I lost my grandma and a close cousin days before Christmas. So this year I’m am so thankful for my family and getting to spend time with them. My goal has been to do better communicating just how much they mean to me. It’s been rewarding and heartwarming using a random small moment to express words of gratitude. “Earth has no sorrow that Heaven can’t heal”
My heart is warm with gratitude as I run to the mailbox each day in anticipation of the day’s Christmas cards! I love to send them and write notes of thanks to the sweet family and friends in my life, and it is so fun to receive them. We have a ton displayed in our den and on our refrigerator. 🙂
So thankful for my Jesus and for our (in)courage community! You ladies are blessings! <
Lara
I am grateful for (in)courage e-mails and look forward to opening the e-mails when I see them pop up in my inbox. As I read through these “favorite things” of course first thing popped in my mind was the movie “The Sound of Music” and song from the movie….as a young girl my sister and I would watch that movie every year with our mom on TV (this is before VCRs, DVDs, and DVR’s..ha) . Our mom died when we were little girls but thankful so many years later to still have that precious fun memory from childhood. We always dreamed and fascinated of jumping and singing through beautiful landscapes of Austria, which is across the ocean on that world map. The Map made me grateful we still have the freedom to worship and praise God openly in the USA when so many countries do not have that freedom. The beautiful nativity candle set reminded me that on the inside of those vases are a wax melted hot mess, how I feel my life sometimes is…ha ha..but Hallelujah Christ was born!!! Later his blood poured out on the cross to cover me and my hot mess with His Grace and Salvation! Glory to God! The wooden box resembles the wood of the cross. I am extremely grateful for the cross along with the words on the necklace, a reflection that God Chose Me and I was worth dying for! I agree whole heartedly about wrapping your hands around a warm cup of coffee in the morning…it is like a hug straight from Heaven! His love for me makes my cup overflow with gratitude and peace to know that in this ever changing world, when In all my ways I acknowledge him, He will make the paths straight. His word and scriptures never change and always true and for that I am eternally grateful. Thank you for sharing your hearts this morning and encouraging mine! May you be blessed beyond measure for your service in Jesus Name!
I am grateful that God is always beside me. Even during hard times in a marriage that is usually filled with laughter and goodness. I am reminded this is a season and of the blessings I’ve been given. So thankful for the good in my marriage right now.
My heart is warm with gratitude for our Savior who we celebrate on Christmas. I’m thankful for beautiful Christmas songs that celebrate His birth. I’m also thankful that through the business, we can be still and enjoy quiet moments by the light of a glowing Christmas tree and be together with family.
I’m so grateful that, year round I can celebrate Jesus with many godly women who love me just as Jesus does. And at this time of year I can reflect on that love and love them right back!
I am grateful this year for this Christmas season and the birth of our Savior…that sound obvious I know, but this year more than ever, with all that has gone on and is in the news over and over, I am especially grateful for the light and love that is Christmas. I am grateful that no matter what is going on here on earth the One who rules over heaven and earth has a plan, and thanks to His son I am part of that plan. Merry Christmas to all!
I cherish my family all the more at this time of year.
So thankful for friends that love Jesus!
I listened to a sermon about Mary’s song in Luke as I was driving to work this morning. I was touched with the mother side of the story. My sons are 18 & 20 and embarking on new lives. This is a hard time for a mama’s heart. To raise them and then let them go is very hard. We must rely on God to guide their paths. But Mary had it so much harder. Her son wasn’t just going off to college; he was leaving to literally save the world. She had to watch her son die a horrible death. Even though Mary knew her son was the son of God, she still loved him as her son. Her faith and trust in God was all she had to get her through that day. She had to trust God’s plan. The story of Jesus’ birth, life and death is so deep and has so many facets to study. I am feeling very humbled and grateful today because God cared enough to send Jesus to save humanity.
My heart is full of gratitude this Christmas as all of my children are home under the same roof. This has been a tough year of loss but we have each other but most of all we have Jesus.
Grateful for my kids and husband!
My family, church family and community warm my heart during this season.
My heart is filled with gratitude when I think about why we celebrate Christmas in the first place. I’m grateful to be surrounded by my children and grandchild, and grateful that my husband is still here with us, celebrating with us, loving us all with an amazing love, and being the godly husband God created him to be. You see, 7 years ago he came to me and told me that he didn’t love me anymore and he was ready to walk out on our family. Fast forward 7 years and God has slowly done an amazing work in his life. Our family will be forever grateful. Thank you Jesus! Happy birthday!
I am grateful for life, to wake up for another day. To be able to live laugh and cry to remind myself to take a deep breath and find peace in the every day drama as it unfolds.
That I have the people I have in my life, that I have the things that I need and that’s enough.
I am grateful for my 96 yr old grandma being told a couple weeks ago her stage 4 ovarian cancer is in remission again. She beat cancer the first time 10 years ago. I know it is God’s work~it is a miracle. I am so grateful for the opportunity to see how my grandma’s faith has pulled her though this. I am also grateful for each day I have with my husband and kids as they are growing up so quickly. What a blessing to see them grow and become servants of God.
My heart is warm with gratitude because I have a strong Christian military community in my new home to help me grow in my faith. And I have a wonderful little family to celebrate this joyous holiday season with.
My heart is warm with LOVE .. the love of my Savior under the umbrella of grace .. I am sheltered by the love of my family and the love of friends …My heart is toasty warm with the Love of my Father God who holds me close
My heart is warm with gratitude when I am at home surrounded by my family. We are so busy all the time (6th grader, 4th grader, 1st grader) that sweet evenings or weekends at home are precious jewels. I am so thankful for my amazing husband and 3 precious children. The memories we make during our down time are golden.
My heart is warm with gratitude for good health and a happy family. I am so blessed to have a home, food on the table and people who love me for me!
Blessing to all this Christmas season!
What makes my heart warm with gratitude this Christmas is that my boyfriend is home for the first time since being deployed in Afghanistan for nearly 9 months. I am so thankful for the time we had apart, but am overjoyed to be back together again and making memories during this Christmas season. All praises be to God our Father!
My heart is filled with gratitude this year for our health and financial situation. We are doing well as a family and I love my new job. God is good in many ways.
Cozy time with family, especially my little boy who will be enjoying a much needed break from school
My heart is filled with gratitude at the wonder of Christmas through the eyes of a child. To remind them that Jesus came as a baby to completely change our world. And I am so thankful that He continues to change our world today. Merry Christmas!!
To give something to someone and not expect anything in return is a very rewarding experience. Giving my time and talent to capture moments in time for people is an honor because it is a moment in time that they will not get back.
My heart is warm with gratitude because of the love of God. I am so undeserving at times of His love, but He is always faithful and loves me no matter what. He is a good Father.
My heart is warm with gratitude with all God has done for me, even for the things I will never understand on this side of heaven…
my heart is filled with gratitude when I look into the face of my Bible Journaling Group. what a blessing these ladies have become to meet. I teach 2 classes a week and they are the best two days of the week. we have formed a wonderful bond and are there for each other!
Spending time with my family. We like to take this time of year and slow down – turn off the tv and electronics, sit in front of the fire. Papa will often read to my daughter and I while I knit and she draws or plays with Legos.
I’m grateful that God has provided me with meaningful work, a loving husband, 4 awesome kids, and 2 grandchildren who.keep me laughing. Spending time with them and the friends God has,blessed me with are what makes the season special!
My my, what makes me grateful? Being nourished by women of God. My girls walk g with the Lord. My husband working so hard for us. Thanknyou for your work to help feed,grow, and encourage us women! Merry Christmas!
I am warmed by the fact that we slow down…and that both my grandbabes are near by!
What makes my heart warm with gratitude is a husband who sits and watches Christmas movies with me and we are looking forward to this weekend when my parents will arrive from out of town, my daughter and her boyfriend will arrive from out of town, my youngest son (who lives local) will come sleep over for a few days, and my oldest son and his family will spend all of Christmas Eve as well as some other evenings with us over the holidays. And I am grateful for a Savior who came to earth and we are excited to celebrate his gift of love to us.
What makes me warm with gratitude is knowing that no matter what turns life took this year, I have never been alone and I know that He is working all things out for my good. It’s the comfort in knowing we have a Saviour that is acquainted with everything we go through and He’s not in Heaven wringing His hands because He’s not sure what to do. He already has a plan, a plan for my good, to prosper me and not to harm me. And the warmth of a fire and the twinkle of the lights on the tree just add to that feeling of contentment of knowing I am taken care of, now and always……
My heart is warm with gratitude all the mornings I wake up and Jesus reminds me there are other people out there just like me who pour out out what God has taught them, in order to provide a daily dose of encouragement. These writers show me the importance of sharing what God shows us; and through their example I know I can encourage others too. Thank God for this community, and thank God for all of you- I can’t even begin to tell you how many days you have all helped me get through. Thank You!
Thank you for the generous offer! My heart is full this year! Our baby girl is 23 months and has her Mama’s Christmas spirit!! We have been having the greatest time preparing for Christmas and I just can’t wait to continue sharing traditions and meanings of Christmas with her through the years! ❤️
My heart is full of gratitude when I sit and journal in my bible. When I meditate on the wonders of God’s word I am filled with great comfort and peace. I’m full of gratitude that I get to spend my Christmas with my favorite people, my husband and child. I am full of gratitude that God has helped us be bold in trying to keep Christ in Christmas rather than getting swept up in the excitement of presents and other things at this time of year. I’m grateful for sites like this one that help me keep my eyes on what’s truly important. I hope and pray that we can all have an advent heart this season full of gratitude towards our great God!
Life makes me grateful! Even when it’s hard there is always something to be thankful for!
I am most grateful for the love of my Father who loves me in spite of myself. When I throw a temper tantrum at Him, He still loves me, when I doubt His faithfulness, He still loves me and when I question if I really am His beloved, He still loves me.
I am thankful for my children and grandchildren who are nearby. But even closer than that Is Jesus, who is always with me day and night, no matter what the weather is. Thank you for my Lord Jesus!
At 60-something the things that make my heart warm? Family. Fellowship. Fun. Laughter. And, most of all the peace that passes all comprehension – Jesus!
I am full of gratitude this Christmas because a deeper understanding of Jesus
2017 has been filled with so many unexpected things. It has taught me so much about myself. Though I can’t say this was an easy thing but now that December is here I am so grateful for the lessons learned through the unexpected. So truly my heart is filled with gratitude for the strength God has given me to pull through.
Merry Christmas!
My Dad is spending this Christmas with Jesus. I am grateful.
My daughter is crawling out of a hellish year. To God be the glory.
I’m grateful for my church family with my family far away
I have been reflecting on my year and am hoping and praying for a better 2018. As we have been receiving Christmas letters from friends and family, I realized that 2017 hasn’t been the best for many people. But, many of the letters had gratitude for the “bad” experiences in that they had grown from the experience. It made me reflect back on all the things that had made my year “not a good year”. I had not looked at the positives that came from the happenings nor shown gratitude for all the great things that had happened in 2017! I am grateful to the friends that wrote Christmas letters and shared their life experiences this year. It was the “wake-up” call I needed to reflect and prayerfully look back on my year. Each day brings a new beginning. I’m much more prepared with my attitude for 2018!
It makes my heart warm with gratitude when I see people liberated by the truth of God’s Word and that I get to share that truth!
I am grateful for godly parents who introduced me to Christianity. If I had been born elsewhere I might never have known of Jesus Christ’s redemptive power for me. I am grateful that this Christmas season I will witness these same godly parents prepping to give a blessing to their first great-grandchild, Natalie Joy. Even though they will not live to see her grown and launched into society, they want to leave behind their blessing for her which she will, hopefully, cherish when she understands. I am grateful for the opportunity to be a parent myself. I have a book entitled “The Blessing” by Trent/Smalley and inside the front cover pages are written blessings from my parents to my husband, to me, and to our son, Matthew. I cherish this gift more than practically anything else I have ever received from them! It is amazing how being blessed strengthens you to walk around daily wearing an attitude of gratitude. There is great wisdom in the Proverbs where we are admonished to honor our parents. I am grateful for my godly parents, Stuart and Cecilia Jones, this Christmas season. (I would like the map tray because I grew up in Cape Town, South Africa and now live in Searcy, Arkansas)!
My heart is warmed watching my 4 kids learn about and love Jesus – especially when I see them share it with others.
My heart is the most grateful for Jesus’ incredible love & grace in coming to Earth to redeem us, and for having all my family home. We miss our oldest when he’s in college, but enjoy seeing how God is growing him.
What makes me warm with gratitude is when someone really puts thought or time into something for me. Whether they give me a meaningful trinket or just take the time to say something sincere, I’m reminded of how blessed I am to have such connections and relationships, however imperfect they may be. <3
Our Lord and Savior gave His life on the cross for our sins, when I remember all that Jesus has done for us I am so thankful and feel so blessed. Jesus was at Creation, born in a stable (both man and God), taught us about faith, baptism, and the Sacrament of His body and blood. Forgiveness is a given to us by grace and His death. Parables and Miracles help in the explanation of the Word and then Jesus Resurrection on the Sunday 3 days after His death on the cross. Alleluia!!! He is Risen indeed, Alleluia! What a JOY when we remember that Jesus is in our heart. God loves us, we have so much to be thankful for, pray, praise and give thanks. A special warmth comes over me when I’m in The Word, and think about all that God has done for us. God is Love, and He loves me. He is faithful, kind and patient. Oh how thankful I am for knowing Jesus. God loves you my friends.
The spirit of the season warms my heart.
Gratitude overwhelmed me as I realized how rich I truly am… not in the world’s sense but in family, friends, and most of all spiritual blessings. It’s been a very hard year as my sweet mom has struggled with lung cancer BUT God has sent us a precious new baby grandaughter (who was delivered on the side of the road by my son) to remind us that life is full of blessings and riches. So many heartaches this year and so many blessings. He is able to do “far more abudantly, beyond all we ask or think….” He is still here reminding us of His steadfast love. Blessed !!
I’m so incredibly grateful for my family and my friends. Like with most people life the last 10 years or so has been very difficult for my husband and I to say the least but we have been truly blessed with amazing family and wonderful friends. I am a better person for having each one in my life and I try to let them know just how important each one is to me. God placed me in a loving family who are very close and I’m grateful for that. He hand picked each friend to teach me the best traits in all of them. He choose the most understanding and supportive husband who would not leave even in the face of my raging drug addiction. He blessed me with a mother and father in law who I love like my own parents. He gave me a Mom who is parent and friend. He gave me a Dad who makes me feel safe and that I’m worth everything. An older brother who is the best of older brother attributes as well as best friend. For all of this I am not only grateful beyond words but blessed more than I deserve, but that’s how our Glorious Father works.
I am thankful for my family. God has blessed us with a daughter-in-love this year and next year we will be adding a son-in-love. Christmas looks different with only one child home this year. Trying to embrace this new normal. I love watching tv with my family by the lights of the Christmas tree. Christmas music warms my heart too.
I am grateful to know Jesus, and that He knows me by name! And for family and friends to share the season with.
My heart is filled with gratitude because no matter the circumstances in my life I know Jesus loves me and has a good plan for my life. He is the reason for the season and because of Him there is always hope! Merry Christmas, I love my incourage community!
I am thankful for a Savior that never leaves me most of all. I did not settle & got a great husband after waiting. Then we went through infertility & it was his plan that we adopt. I am so grateful that he healed my broken heart & took my pain away. We did not have to wait long & were able to adopt a son through foster care. Two daughters were adopted later. I could not live this life without Jesus!
For Advent I’ve been reading from Luke 1 and 2 and writing down one thankful thought each day. The thought that lingers is that God used the buddy system. Mary and Elizabeth; Mary and Joseph; Shepherds (plural); angels (plural). What a great reminder that God reveals His Good News to us in the context of relationship. Not just Jesus and me, but Jesus and us. Immanuel—God with US.
I LOVE this!! Thank you so much for sharing your insight, Afton. I’ve been immersed in the same chapters and finding new treasures, too. Thank you for sharing one of yours. 🙂
My heart is full of gratitude that this Christmas, my whole family of origin will be together for the first time in 6 years (and likely for the last time). My parents are in their 80’s (and my dad has Parkinson’s) and my 12 nieces and nephews are still able to come “home” (none of them are married with their own families…yet). One of my nieces has been overseas for the past 2 years! My husband and I don’t have our own children so our nieces and nephews have always been a significant part of my life! It will be a fun-filled time of togetherness and chaos but I look forward to many opportunities to share with each of them some one-on-one time and hopefully create some Godspace in the discussions! ❤️
My heart is warmed with gratitude when I think of the gift of Jesus! His birth, life, death and resurrection resulted in my salvation as well as the salvation of my husband, two children and their spouses! So grateful that we can spend Christmas together praising Him!
Having all my kids home together, (from college near and far) and when they enjoy each other. I’ve long prayed that my kids would be friends and love and support each other, and THEY DO AND ARE! So grateful they can’t wait to be reunited and cheer for each other in everything. What a gift and answered prayer for this mamas heart. Christmas is extra special with the traditions we’ve created and even if it’s just the 5 of us, we are overjoyed for the quality time.
I’m thankful for traditions! My adult daughter who has cerebral palsy and will always live at home with us is on a very limited budget but every Christmas Day she takes everyone to the movies. I go to the theater and get the tickets a day ahead and she passes them out before we go. The joy is in the giving for her. It makes her feel so good to know that she has got to serve others. We have family from all ages and everyone loves her gift!
My son just arrived home from college last night. Having all 4 of us home together again to celebrate our love & the love of God throughout this season is truly the most grateful gifts in my life.
My heart is grateful this Christmas that I am able to spend this time with my family. After living and working abroad in Chile for the past two years and missing the last two Christmases, Thanksgivings, and birthdays with my parents, I am very grateful to have the opportunity to spend this year’s holidays with them in their home. (And as the only child of my parents I know they are super excited and grateful as well!)
My heart is also warmed by best friends who come to get you at the airport hours and hours later after your flights get cancelled because of crazy power outages (just yesterday!) and who speak words of encouragement and peace as the stress and emotion of the day tries to overwhelm.
This Christmas God has been good and faithful and my heart gives thanks.
Family spending as much time together as possible and giving freely, church friends finding new ways to reach out to the community, Christmas carols being sung all around, these are some of the things that warm my heart with gratitude the most. We serve an Awesome God who gave us His Son so that we might be saved. Now as we take extra time to reflect on that we can share what He has do through our words and actions and live that love out loud while we watch others do the same. This Christmas whether you are in a good place or a hard place, whether you are full of happiness and joy or experiencing pain and suffering the gift we have been given does not change. Hope is given! The excitement for Christmas is in the name of Jesus and that warms me from the inside out. I hope it is warming your heart too.
I’m thankful for the people who say Merry Christmas rather than Happy Holidays so not to offend anyone
I do that and the responses are always so wonderful…and that is a BIG DEAL here in the starving wasteland we call New England! Please pray for us here. Those who seek to share the Gospel and ESPECIALLY those who so NEED to hear it and really experience God’ s unconditional and sacrificial love for them! ✨
Wishing All of you a very Christ centered Christmas and So VERY THANKFUL for ALl those who contribute to my days and life with their words! ✝️
What makes my heart warm with gratitude this Christmas is the comforting embrace of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. His compassion for us is without equal. Were it not for His loving grace I would have no hope for tomorrow. My second son went home to Heaven thirteen years ago this month and only the loving, caring arms of Jesus, and the hope He offers for our future with Him fill me to the brim with gratitude and joy!
I suffer from severe depression and it has been hard to get in the Christmas spirit this year. So I have been trying to focus on Jesus and taking in His birth. Prayers and Jesus carry me every moment of every day. I am so grateful for my faith and my Saviour because I would not be here on earth without Him. I am grateful for my friends and family which warms my heart. And I just got excited about Christmas last night wrapping gifts for my great nieces and nephews…being creative like my old self – my old self which I feel I have lost.
My heart is full of joy because of the beautiful child God is knitting together in my womb. Husband and I just found out we’re pregnant with our fourth child last week. 🙂
My heart is warm with gratitude this season because we were able to help a family in need this year. In years past we’ve had people help us and it was nice to pay it forward this year.
To hear the Christmas story being read by our youngest, for the first time this year, brings the awe and wonder of the story to life. The words of Luke 2 in his little voice have filled our eyes with tears as we know how precious this Hope is—how close Heaven feels when we focus on the Christmas story.
My heart warms when I contemplate that Christ came into our mess because we need him so desperately. I’m so grateful for Christmas.
This season, I am grateful for fresh starts, for grace, and for friendships old and new. Reading “Never Unfriended” has changed how I handle hearts. I am more prepared this season to love my family well and serve grace to those who perhaps are still learning life lessons. To those who have been given much, of them much is required. I have been given so much! Gifts are not required; my cup is full and running over.
Blessings to the (in)courage team to who feed my mind with good things each day! Merry Christmas!
My heart is full when I can be home at the end of my work day sitting in the quiet of my house. Christmas tree lights on, low Christmas music playing with time to pray and give thanks for my day. I seem to have had more downs than ups this past year and I am looking forward to having family with us this Christmas.
I am filled with warmth and gratitude for the staff members at my mother’s nursing home. They must work when others are at home enjoying the holiday. For their willingness to be there – I am grateful! Thank you to them!
Spending time with my kids, friends and family. Baking and sharing the baked goods with teachers, friends, neighbors and other.
My heart warms with gratitude every time I look and my husband and daughter. That God saw fit to put our little family together just fills my cup to overflowing!
This Christmas season, with the joy that Christ’s birth brings, I have feelings of both sadness and gratitude.
My sadness comes from the loss of my very special, sweet father-in-law whose body succumbed to Alzheimer’s this summer…and the loss of 2 wonderful friends this fall…and the impending loss of another dear friend, given only days to live. All of these people were extraordinary people…all three giving of themselves to help others.
Ron, my father-in-law, was a teacher, then principal of a high school. He once told us the story of young woman who had been showing signs of abuse and then didn’t show up for school for 2 days…he and the counselor drove out to the house (in the country) to check on her only to find her tied to a tree (by her parents). She had been there for some time. Many years later this young woman called him to thank him for saving her that day. This is just one of the many stories of an incredible man who loved with his whole heart.
Merle was a great friend of my husband whose body succumbed to disease. He never married, instead telling a mutual friend that he was too busy doing God’s work. He, too, was a teacher and he shared his wealth to take care of the children in our community. If a teacher called him to tell him that she had Kindergarten children showing up who had not eaten breakfast because there was no food in their homes…he bought cases of granola bars for her class. He donated for sports programs and he funded scholarship programs for high school seniors.
Rose was my dear friend who was taken far too early. At 63, Scleroderma ravaged her once incredibly fit body. Rose was an Occupational/Physical Therapist who traveled to schools working with children who have special needs. This woman gave of herself every day. She loved working with the kids. Her heart broke for a young man who had once been a golfer on her golf team, bright, excelling in school and loving life. His body was ravaged in a car accident with a traumatic brain injury and broken bones. The accident stole his mind and crippled his body. She would stop at his home to work with him and encourage his parents. There were tears in her eyes as she told me about him. She was also my daughter’s swim coach. She loved her girls and they loved her right back. She was firm but fun and genuinely cared for each and every one of them. At her funeral service, the priest used his homily time to speak to the girls about Rose’s legacy and told them the best thing they could do to honor her memory is to continue her good work, attitude, and giving ways.
On Sunday I was notified that my friend Bernard has been given only days to live. Cancer has spread throughout his body. Only 3 friends knew that he had been battling cancer for the past 7 years. Bernard kept his illness to himself so as not to bother anyone else. He lived his final years doing everything he loved doing. Bernard is an incredible French Chef. When one thinks of the term ‘French gentleman’, there is never a truer description. He is a gentle soul, a sweet man, and always asked about my daughters with a genuine interest and caring. He will be sadly missed by his many friends here on earth.
I am truly grateful to God for having had the opportunity to get to know and love these amazing people in their time here.
I am grateful for my faith that assures me they are (and will be) in Heaven with Him – healthy and happy again watching over us all.
And I am ever so grateful for the time I have with my family. My husband is a true gift from God, my daughters are incredible women who offer a bright future to our world, my mother-in-law is also my dear friend, and my extended family and friends who bring daily joy to my life.
Patty O
A Thankfully Imperfect Woman
Patricia,
I’m so sorry to hear that you are going through a season of such great loss. You truly have been blessed with some great people in your life and know there will be an emptiness with them gone. I lost my father also an educator, to Alzheimers in September of this year and feel a great emptiness but knowing that he is in heaven, complete and whole again, and that I will see him some day gives me great peace. I pray that you find comfort in your memories of these wonderful people. God Bless you and I hope that you have a Merry Christmas.
Thank you Kathy!
We’ve both received such blessings from above. Remembering happy, fun times will be a joyous way to celebrate Christmas this year.
God bless you and your family!
Patty O
My children and husband bring my heart gratitide ♡. God has blessed us immensely.
Feeling the journey of Joseph and Mary. To the little town of Bethlehem. The wonder of His Birth. That is Christmas…..
Knowing that with Jesus, there is always hope, and waking up to His new mercies every morning. That is what makes my heart warm with gratitude and keeps me gratefully on my knees during Christmas, and everyday of my life, even the crummy ones!
I am grateful that my children have the opportunity to meet with Jesus every day. I am grateful that they are growing up in a community of believers that encourage their uniqueness. I am grateful that they are learning to give and receive mercy, compassion and grace.
The miraculous season of Christmas is the fulfillment of God’s promises through Christ birth. It is the confirmation that Jesus makes all things new. All things new. Stirs the joy in my soul. What a gift. Jesus the Savior, Emmanuel. He came to this messy place to rescue us and make things new. What a gift of redemption and restoration. What good news!! What love from our Heavenly Father.
This life is hard but what peace I have in trusting this promise. As I walk through the day, and witnesses the despair and hopelessness of those around me, I pray, “Lord, make all things new.” I am filled with hope as I know that His birth was the answer to that prayer. Merry Christmas ❤
This is the first year I’ve really paid attention to what Advent is about and tried to tune in daily to a reminder that I am to wait EXPECTANTLY in this season. Wait expectantly to receive God’s grace again & again; to feel the warmth of Jesus’ coming–both 2,000 years ago and what is yet to come; to witness change in my family, in His timing–wait, Megan. Wait. But wait with EXCITEMENT because He is faithful and He never shows up late.
On my way to work this morning I heard the song 2,000 Decembers Ago (by Joy Williams) for the first time and I could not hold back tears (not that this is abnormal for me–if I feel emotion, there will be tears!).
“Did the willow trees whisper excitement
To the rivers and streams passing by?
…
Oh, the love must have been overwhelming
2000 Decembers ago”
This waiting in great anticipation during a season drenched in God’s love & Jesus’ sacrifice–that is what warms my heart this Christmas.
Knowing how undeserving and unworthy I am, but He made me worthy through His blood. So thankful for Jesus, and thankful for His plan that though I may not know what it is yet I know He’s still there to guide me. Also thankful for my family and friends.
I am grateful that because of God’s overflow and abundance to me, that out of my heart flows God’s love, mercy, compassion, forgiveness, and grace to others! Thank you JESUS!!!!!!!
I’m grateful for the faithfulness of God and for time with family.
I read something yesterday that sent my heart soaring with gratefulness that God is working backstage on the next scenes of my life. All I see right now is what is happening on center stage and, quite frankly, it’s not pretty. But these words opened my eyes: Be patient when it gets weird; the angels explained things to Joseph after he’d talked to Mary, not before. How thankful I am that my God works beyond the boundaries of what I could ever comprehend. Merry a Christmas to you all. Every day when I get on the bus to work, I can’t wait to open my iPad and read the encouraging words from you.
My heart is so full this Christmas! I feel the love of Jesus like never before. I live in Ventura, CA and in the middle of the path of the Thomas Fire that is ravaging our beautiful community. It is soon to become the biggest fire in California history. We were evacuated on December 4th and will not be able to go home for several weeks due to smoke damage. My home was spared but those around me were not so blessed. The power of prayer, I believe, spared my home. And if you saw the land around us you would be in awe as I am. To make this season even more amazing, my daughter, who was also evacuated, went into labor 3 weeks early and delivered a healthy beautiful baby boy. This is my first grandchild. As the fire raged on around us, God showed us that life would continue. That there was beauty to come from all the ashes. My heart is so full. Our community has bonded together like never before to help all the fire victims. Local businesses are holding fundraisers and donation are pouring in to ensure that the children who won’t be home will still have a Christmas gift, that these families know that we are behind them and are there to help. Such promise, hope, love is felt. This is not the usual, customary or traditional Christmas. No baking this year, no Christmas tree this year, no Christmas at home this year, but I’ve never felt the love of Christmas like this before in my life. There is a hope that comes with the birth of Jesus. The true meaning of Christmas is alive in my heart.
Love this confident post that shows your strong faith and hope in Him. I grew up in Ventura and am so saddened by all the loss.
Congratulations on your new baby grandson. A true Christmas present in this season of loss in your life. I’m praying for you!
I’m so thankful that all our family will be together!
I volunteer in a ministry that includes many adults with a variety of disabilities. I am so thankful this season for the genuine friendships with them that have enriched my life and strengthened my faith. Those that the world may say have little to give have unique gifts given by our loving Father and are so willing to bless others.
Merry Christmas to y’all as I do enjoy reading my daily devotionals and uplifting stories with y’all each morning ! I have so much that I’m grateful for as well besides just y’all lovely ladies .
Harvey came and destroyed my Daughter’s home in August , in the end of October, I was hospitalized for almost 3 weeks and was told I was “ gone “ twice . I did not know my family and closest friends and barely remember any of pretty much a month long ordeal . I cannot even imagine the heartache I put my family through . Once I was discharged home , I was still unable to dress myself and at 44 , I was aware but my brain just was not connecting . Long story short , I’m getting back to myself , even drove myself to a local doctor appointment ( shh ) and my doctors are amazed at how much I’ve improved , they are clueless by I told them , God just wasn’t ready for me yet and he has so many more great plans for me and my little family . You see , so much devastation and heartache in our lives but so many blessings that I am beyond grateful for . Thank you God each and every day …
My heart is warm with gratitude when I think about celebrating my baby girl’s first Christmas.
We are in Grand Prairie, Texas and our three grown kids and g
Three year old grandson are in Orlando, Florida area. We are driving down to spend the holidays with them.
I’m grateful for my family and friends but I’m mostly thankful for the Circle of Love of my Savior-His birth, His life, His death, His Resurrection. I look forward to His return and eternity with Him forever!
My heart warms with gratitude that Jesus was willing to humble Himself to come to earth as a baby, to be born to a poor, lowly couple, and bed down with the cows. His love warms my heart even though this Christmas is not going o be the best Christmas ever. I am so grateful for a God who loves me.
Family makes my heart full of gratitude. I am in awe of these beautiful kids that God has entrusted me to raise and my godly husband.
I llok forward to the emails everyday. They are very heartwarming, timely, and encouraging. Thank you.
Merry Christmas friends!!! Today, and everyday, my heart is warmed with gratitude with His gift of life and another day to love God and others as a vessel for Jesus. I’m so thankful for my daughter and getting to enjoy this journey with her and now, our German son who joined our family in 2016. We are so blessed with a wonderful family and village. Praying our friends here are blessed with His favor, love, and protection as we wind down 2017 and move into 2018! With love and big Texas hugs, Diana
This has been a hard year for us, with losses and change. But no matter how hard the struggles are at times, what warms my hard this season (and all seasons) are the promises of His Word and the faith that all things work for His good. We may not know His plans for us here on Earth, but we know that His ultimate goal is that we spend eternity with Him. Some days, that is all I can cling to that gets me through the tears. Knowing I will see Him, and see loved ones again.
My heart warms with gratitude when I think about the faithfulness of God. His love is why I can celebrate and enjoy all the blessings of Christmas.
A warm heart full of gratefulness because of how much God loves us! I have several loved ones that are not here with me but God’s great love always comforts and heals. Who would imagine a King!
What warms my heart with gratitude the most is Christmas morning with my parents, sister, and husband, right after all the presents are open and we sit together in this warm, happy glow of love. It’s the pinnacle of Christmas for me.
As my children grow older and busier, I am thankful for the time I have with them while they are still in our home. The years go by so quickly, and though I can’t make time slow down, I can cherish the moments when we are all together now. My family is a precious gift that I never want to take for granted.
My heart is warmed with gratitude reading each comment here! Nothing original to add, just raising my teacup to the blessings of eternal life WITH Jesus, the occasional glimpses of heaven that peek through the everyday, and so many precious persons in my life. God continues to expand my understanding and experience of community in beautiful ways.
Awe, how sweet are y’all? And, look at all these comments. I wish I had time to read through them all today. — Just an aside: Thank you ladies for this sweet little place of authenticity, so full of warmth and truth. Merry Christmas to you all. —
(Now I forgot what the question was, haha. Scrolling back up…) Ahh, yes. What makes my heart warm with gratitude this Christmas — goodness, I guess this might sound cheesy or cliche’, but it’s my truth right now, so I’m going with it. I’m so very grateful for God’s loving care toward me.
Just this past Sunday I accidentally left my wallet at the self-serve booth at the post office. (Because I’m losing my ever-living mind lately.) Do you know what God did? He brought a friend of mine to the post office not long after I left. She wasn’t planning to go until the next day, but kept feeling a strong urge to go *today.* She found my wallet and texted me. — Y’all, this is my God. This is how much little old me means to Great Big Him. He’s claimed me, and as one who lives the sad reality of dysfunction within my childhood home, (not having the comfort of loving earthly parents), I cannot summon words to express the comfort His loving care brings to my longing soul.
He is the bright star of Christmas, and of my life—my beloved Savior. Oh, how I adore Him. ♥
I am warm and grateful for another year that God has brought me through. I also that Him for the lives of my husband, three children, and my Dad. God has blessed us in so many wonderful and glorious ways this year!
I am so grateful for all my church family and the blessings we have received from God. After reading many of the comments above it’s hard not to repeat what all the others have said. Thank God for JESUS!
My heart is warmed with gratitude for the 36 extra years I have gotten to spend with my mom. She had cancer when I was just a toddler and with a miracle was cured and raised us 4 kids up to be who we are. She is having heart trouble this Christmas and so I am just more aware of the impact she has made on my life and molding me into a Christian woman. I hope and pray she gets the heart trouble ironed out, but I am so thankful for my 36 “extra” years with her because of her miraculous healing. Thank you Jesus!
My husband and sweetheart of 46 years ran into the arms of Jesus on December 4th. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer on November 7th. I prayed that the Lotd would not let him suffer and He answered that prayer. So this year I am thankful for the years we had, got watching my kids rally round their dad so tenderly. My sons are not Christ followers and so I pray that this will draw them to Him. I will be speaking at his service on January 6th. This is my hearts desire and I pray the Lord will grant this. Admist the tears, there is much laughter and so much joy. We dot grieve as those who have no hope. God IS good all the time. Merry Christmas to each of you.
Praying for you and your family
Psalm 23:1 “…there is nothing I lack”
I’m thankful that there are so many people who care about others. With so much that has affected others lives, just watch the news, there is still a lot of love and care in our world.
I’m thankful for the simplicity of Christmas. It doesn’t matter if you have much or little. It’s celebrating Jesus’ coming and his birth.
Whether you have pizza or ramen to eat, or have turkey and ham to celebrate the day…His love is always with us.
May your Christmas be Blessed!
Merry Christmas!!! 🙂
What fills my heart with gratitude during the holidays is being able to reconnect with family in sunny California for a week (Right now I’m away at school in Oregon, and it can get dreary at this time of the year).
My heart is warm from being able to share the love of Christ. This is something I love to do because we all need Jesus more and more every day. I’m also thankful for the incourageme website and emails. It’s such a blessing to see them everyday to remind me of what’s important!!
Grateful for an answer to a two and a half year old prayer
I am grateful for all the memories I have from Christmases past. My parents and my only sibling are now among my cloud of witnesses in heaven. As my husband and I decorate the Christmas tree, each ornament holds a memory of Christmas in my childhood home. As the advent candles are lit, I am reminded that my parents donated the advent wreath in church each year…in memory of our departed family members. As I make favorite family Christmas recipes, I wear my mother’s apron and read the recipe cards she wrote. As we sing “Silent Night” at Christmas Eve service, I remember all the years that my father was the organist leading the carols. These things, and many more, make my heart warm with gratitude for all those who made our family Christmas celebrations so meaningful.
What makes my heart warm with gratitude this Christmas? Spending moments throughout this season to be with Jesus. Thanking Him for the overflowing love He has for us as seen through His sacrifice. And then recognizing the endless blessings I have around me. It makes my heart want to burst with joy and peace equally.
Now that two of my three kids are away at school, my heart is always filled with gratitude when we get to be under the same roof again – even if it’s just for a short while.
Jesus warms my heart at Christmas! With Him, there would be no celebrations of joy and hope beyond this life! To think the God’s son came into our world, to be born as a baby also warms my heart.
Reflecting back to the days I held my own babies, infants are so vulnerable and dependent. But as a man Jesus was scorned, misunderstood, criticized, and crucified for my sins. Being sinless, Jesus knew He was chosen to bear the sins of the world. My sins, my mistakes…past present and future. The CHRIST in Christmas warms my heart with His Love.
As I have read through others stating why they are grateful, I am overwhelmed by the beautiful words spoken. Such amazing gifts of grace and beauty that our Lord continues to bless us with. How can we not be overcome by Him?? Merry CHRISTmas! Thank you for the giveaway!
My warmest gratitude in this season is knowing that Jesus is my greatest gift, given freely to me to receive in my heart.
I am so unendingly grateful for God’s redeeming love. That he never stops chasing us, he never stops giving us his best and wanting what’s best for us. Even when things look like they could never get better, God has a purpose for us even in our suffering and pain and will redeem it all. For that, I am so, so thankful.
My heart is glad this year as my boys, and their families are safely in the states and we have been able to spend some great times together this past year. We have had a satisfying year and our plans for next year are coming together with more big changes. Retirement coming. Blessings to all of you ladies, and have a Bright and Merry Christmas with days of peaceful times for all.
I am always thankful and full of grattitude to God for his overflowing grace and mercy in my life. This Christmas is extra special because it would be the first christmas we celebrate with my baby girl. We had been trying for so long and finally this year she is here!
I’m grateful for God’s heart of tender love and mercy and the way he reaches down into my painful places to remind me of his affection for me. Often, he does this through other members of the body or through the amazing way he orchestrates the circumstances of my life. Just yesterday I woke up hugely discouraged and frustrated with myself, but God stepped in and lifted me up, using interaction at a simple retreat-planning meeting to remind me that he hasn’t abandoned the work he began in my heart so many years ago.
My heart warms with gratitude spending time with family and friends. Holidays are always a special time with everyone together.
love fore my family my friends and my God…cant do this journey without it
Thanks for hosting this giveaway! Such neat gifts!
This Christmas my heart is warmed by how UNSHAKABLE God is. So much tumult this year in our world and in my own life. God says He is our rock and refuge and fortress and it’s entirely true. When the world gives sway, He really is our hope and stay. So thankful for Jesus!
My greatest gratitude, is that I am blessed more than I deserve. I am amazed by HIS powerful love, HIS blessings and HIS forgiveness. Thank you Lord.
I’m grateful for my family, friends and good health. God is so good and I’m grateful for everything He has given me.
Being with my sweet family in Arkansas warms my heart with gratitude. Whether it’s watching a Hallmark movie with Mom, doing the dishes with my sisters, or watching my niece play, my trip from Texas to Arkansas during the holidays is something I treasure deeply.
My heart is full of gratitude for my relationship with the Lord and for the blessings of my family and friends. I also feel blessed for this community. I love receiving the daily email with encouraging words and many times I go to the authors website and find wonderful content to think about throughout my day. Thank you for spreading your love of God, it’s a wonderful thing.
My heart is so full of gratitude to spend time with loved ones this Christmas!
I am grateful this Christmas for the opportunities and experiences God has given me to celebrate this season with my family, church, and friends. Also grateful that even in difficult circumstances this year Jesus has been my constant source of joy.
At Christmas time I’m thankful for all my favorite people – husband, daughter, and son… my parents, parents-in-law, siblings all around, grandparents (only 2 left now), and friends and neighbors.
My heart is warmed thinking of the women God has put in my life. Cindy, whose heart to serve others with love and joy is an example to me. Patti, whose dedication to her family and aging parents increases my faith and gives me hope. Shari, who is the perfect picture of loving your neighbor. Sasha, because she willingly allows God to grow her up and allows me to mentor her. Breanne, who shares with a vengeance my own passion to rescue those being trafficked and never gives up. And my daughter, Shawn, who lives the transparent life and gives when there’s nothing left to give, because she loves Jesus with all her heart.
My heart is filled with gratitude at this time of the year when I reflect upon all that God has allowed me to persevere through this year, and that I’m blessed to be on the doorstep of getting a year older! (Dec. 30th)
I am grateful for a family who loves me in spite of myself. 🙂
I am a high school teacher and although my year has been stressful-I am thankful for the 2 weeks off so I can spend time with my children and husband. I am grateful that I will be able to sleep in, have fun reading a new book, enjoy spending time with our new puppy and coming back after break refreshed and hopefully ready to be positive and take on a new year.
I’d like to say thank you to the staff at (in)courage for this year.
You guys have added much value to the Christian community in 2017 with the blog posts, the emails, Facebook- and Instagram posts.
What a wonderful tray (good taste Lisa Jo)
The candle holder is also a great pick.
I love candles – it’s funny with candles.
In the Philippines where I’m from, we use them most at funerals etc.
When I married my Faroese husband, I had to learn to associate positive feelings with the candles.
It took time to learn.
I like how people in the Western world use candle lights.
Anna’s box is also beautiful.
If I had it, I’d use it in my sleeping room.
The necklace with the ‘Cherished’ is an excellent reminder of what it means to walk in Faith.
Our Lord truly cherishes us!
If I should choose between the four cups, I’d go for the ‘hope’-cup and the ‘faith’-cup.
One for me and one for my husband.
I’m not leaving a comment to be a winner of the contest.
Since I live in Greenland, the package would probably get lost anyway.
No, I’m leaving the comment because I love what you guys are doing and because I LOVE to read blog posts written by Christians with a positive spirit.
I wish all the (in)courage followers a blessed Christmas and hope to get to know more of you in 2018.
Blessings!
Edna Davidsen
PS: I’ll share on SM right away!
I love that our blended family gets together and enjoys the day!!!
id say the joy and love i see on people that i help its always makes my heart fill with joy when im able to help others
My heart is most filled by having my whole family here together for the first time in years to celebrate Jesus’ birth! Due to a variety of issues involving health, religion, abuse, we’ve been apart and are now going to celebrate around the same table this year! God is amazing!
Knowing that God has led me to a home north again, providing both a home and a job warms my heart this Christmas. My reading does as well. I pray God helps me open my heart and home this coming year again so I can share these gifts and His light.
Just celebrated my Chloe Pearl’s 8th birthday yesterday and what an incredible blessing this child is to me! Being a mother to this girl brings me so much peace, happiness, and joy! She is intelligent, creative, kind, and caring and so many other wonderful things. The holidays are so magical with her in it.
My heart is warm with gratitude to have a cozy little house with my family. I also warm with gratitude when I see all the good things people do for others this time of year. People seem kinder and more generous. We just need to keep that up year around. 🙂
I love the Dayspring cups/mugs. I could have a whole cupboard full. The ones that I have make me smile in the morning when I have my tea.
Grateful for my family and that everyone is healthy and well in these challenging times.
My heart warms with gratitude when I think about the amazing gift we are given in Jesus. We have a God who willingly entered into our world of suffering. We have a God who loves us so much that He came to suffer with us and for us and redeem us as His own. What an amazing gift!
My cup truly does runneth over. It would take a book to list all I have to be thankful for. Will list the biggest… 1) that Jesus loved me, a sinner, not because of anything I had done but because of who He is. 2) that after 3 years of falling & praying and a scary morning last January hospitalized with a seizure I was diagnosed with Epilepsy… could not drive for 6 months which was especially hard as a single Mom by the outpouring of love and support was outstanding. I’m blessed indeed. Even though I haven’t been able to work God has provided and I trust Him more than ever! The tests have become a testimony of His unfailing goodness!!
I’m filled with gratitude at the abundance in my life. Plenty of food, warm clothes, family, health…at a time when many don’t have the things we do, I’m trying to remember all we’ve been blessed with.
So grateful to spend time with family this Christmas!
What makes my heart warm with gratitude this year is my family. I love watching my children open the gifts we have picked out for them and I love giving to others!
My heart is warmed by the beautiful comforting truth of knowing God is always by my side. As my pastor spoke about on Sunday ~ Christmas should be celebrated every day. Jesus should be a part of our lives every day. Let’s take time to give Him thanks this Christmas and always.
I am grateful for God’s love shared with me and my family and the whole World! I am grateful that i get to see my daughter for Christmas! I am grateful for a roof over my head and that my family is taken care of! I am grateful for the heat coming out of the baseboard heaters! And always a meal in front of me! I am grateful for God’s friendship
intimately blessing my house! God bless you all for your incourage posts!
What makes me warm with gratitude is the grace of Jesus. I have been thinking so much about the fact that it is all grace from Jesus’ hand. He alone is the giver of all good gifts and He gives grace upon grace, whether I acknowledge it or not. I am trying to be more intentional about noticing those daily graces and giving Him thanks as I see His hand in my days. He is so good!
My heart is full of gratitude when I remember that He loves me and is for me, no matter what I may think of myself.
My heart is full of gratitude and my eyes are full of tears… just reading over the sea of gratitude in the comments before mine… we all have so very much to be grateful for. This year, I am thankful, so very thankful, to be 60… with a heart still full of goals and dreams that Jesus has planted in my heart. I am thankful for my Lord and Savior, Jesus, who was born in a manger … lived a simple and humble life… and died a horrific death for my sins… and was resurrected from the dead so that I may one day be with Him in Heaven. Along with all of those who allow Him to enter their hearts. I am thankful for my husband who works hard for our family. I am thankful for my sons who always bring me joy. I am thankful for my Compassion Child Kenneth… who brings me tears of joy with his letters and pictures. I am thankful for friends and extended family that enrich my life. I am thankful for books that inspire me to become all that I was created to be. I am thankful beyond words to be able to open the Word of God each day and find the Truth that I need to live each day. And I am so thankful for grace and forgiveness… for each day being a new beginning… for a God who loves me far more than I can even imagine.
I am blessed to have a beautiful blended family and I simply LOVE seeing how no one calls each other “step” or “in-law”…we are all family with genuine love expressed and shared. And, the best part is EVERYONE knows Christ as their Savior. My heart overflows with joy when all of us are gathered together creating memories, being playful and cementing the bonds even more. And to have the confidence in knowing we’ll all gather again in Heaven is a peace indescribable. ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
My heart is warmth with gratitude for the slow time, sitting by the fire, watching my growing boys and reading great blog posts/advent studies. Thank you for all the blog posts that truly speak to my soul. Merry Christmas.
Family makes my heart warm with gratitude. I’m so thankful for each and every one of them.
As I sit and reflect on the many things I am grateful for this past year, there are two that are at the top of my list! One happened back on June 21! I receive a call that my granddaughter’s new step dad of only a year has been in a traffic motor home accident and he wasn’t expected to live! My heart hurt at the thought that her and her mom would have to face this loss! So I began to pray along with my prayer partners for God’s Intervention and within a month , he was up walking and talking! This was truly a miracle and as we all know, God doesn’t always answer prayer this way, but we’re awfully glad He did! And another more resent gladness that the Lord allowed in my life was after I read the book “ Gideon’s Gift, the red gloves” by Karen Kingsbury. I felt I wanted to do something to show God’s love to the homeless in my town so I purchased mittens and wrote out Psalm 91, a list of local shelters, a gift card or 2 and our church information and stuffed it in the mitten. So then I was watching for just the right time and there they were “2” homeless people, a man and a woman! I went up to them and introduced myself and we chatted for a bit! As I walked away remembering their grateful eyes looking back at me, my heart leaped with joy! It is more blessed to give them receive! Sincerely in Christ, Sharon
My heart is warm this Christmas thinking of my MOPS community of women. I have been blessed to lead 50 moms this year and share Gods love with them. They have in return blessed me in so many ways.
It seems as I grow older it is more difficult to find joy in the Advent Season. And this year I am struggling with this. Two years ago I lost my beloved husband of 33 years. The following year my son and his wife and children moved clear across the country, so I find myself mired at times in grief and loss. Working a 60 hour per week job and continuing to parent 3 disabled adult children often times leaves me weary.
Yet, I find myself today feeling deeply grateful to God for His amazing faithfulness to me and for his overwhelming grace and mercy in my life. I am thankful for God’s Word. Being able to think on the promises of God renews my soul. I am grateful for my children who love me with all my faults and help me sometimes more than I help them. I have been blessed with amazing friends and co-workers. I have a good home, food on the table and all that I need. Praise God for His deep, deep love. My cup overflows…!
I am full of gratitude for my family and friends that I have around me. Through lots of tough times, they all are supportive and loving and wonderful listeners. I am eternally grateful for our heavenly Father who grants us so much grace each and every day. Merry Christmas!
I’m grateful for a husband who still surprises me with silly notes just when I need a smile.
My heart is warmed when the whole family is together and laughing instead of arguing. When someone does an unexpected kindness or I don’t have to stress over cleaning my house for people to visit. It just is what it is. Jesus would love it!
What a beautiful question…a heart warm with gratitude…my heart is warmed by the facts of waking each morning to ALL God’s life giving, life affirming, life wonders!!! Day after day after day (you get the picture). He is soooooo faithful not only to me but all humanity!
Blessed and Merry Christmas to ALL of you and yours!
xoxo,
Alana
My heart is warm with gratitude this season when remembering the greatest gift ever given. In such a broken world that God would send the solution in the form of a precious little baby – what a perfect and powerful story.
What makes my heart warm this Christmas is seeing the giving nature of people this time of year. I attended an event for Feed My Starving Children earlier this month and was amazed at the generous spirit of thousands of people who gave up their Saturday to help kids thousands of miles away.
Watching my kids get excited about the holidays.
My heart is full of gratitude that my kids are growing up to be fantastic people! Merry Christmas, everyone!
I am so grateful to be able to have another Christmas with my brother. My brother by the grace of God is still on this earth and I am so grateful for every moment.
I am most grateful for God’s grace in saving me. Grateful that I have learned so much in Bible Studies and from other women. Grateful that God has taught me that fellowship with Him is sweet and must come first before anything He places before me to do for Him each day. It’s in being still and knowing Him that I can then be obedient to what He whispers for me to do in His name for others and His Kingdom glory. I am grateful for family and grateful that we have freedom in Christ to live for Him and know satan is defeated and all victory goes to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. satan is crushed. Praise God!
I am filled with gratitude when I’m spending time with my family and know how that time is a treasure. I love all of the Christmas events and traditions because they encourage us to pause and focus on the gifts of salvation and hope and love.
My heart is warm with gratitude for the freedom I have to worship my Father in peace. I’m so thankful to be able to openly share His love with the teenagers I minister to every day.
My heart is filled with gratitude as I reflect on all the ways God continues to bless our family, even in the midst of a job loss for my husband earlier this year (who remains unemployed at this time). The Lord has blessed us with two healthy young boys, who are growing like weeds, and has gifted me personally with wonderful friends through a small group connected to our church and within my local community. I have family close by and God lined up a work-at-home full-time job for me days before my husband lost his. Though it doesn’t replace his income, it has bought us time and we’ve not gone hungry a single day. The Lord God is my provider and my daily strength. I don’t know what I’d do without Him in my life and I’m working my best to share the gift of His salvation and the relationship we can have with Jesus with my boys.
I’m so grateful for new beginnings! My husband and I just moved from our home state of CA to Colorado! Everything is new fir us here. It has been a huge transition for us! I just found out that I will start a wonderful new job after the new year! I’ve been praying and looking and applying for jobs! And now God has blessed me with a great job! Thanks be to God!
This is the first Christmas without my mom. I am warm with gratitude for the family members who still gather around my table and for the memories that we all share.
What makes my heart warm with gratitude this Christmas is getting to spend time with our adult children and sharing traditions and stories from years gone by and making new memories with them.
It warms my heart when my family posts photographs and comments about their activities, many of which are traditions carried from my childhood. I feel I am participating even though I am far away.
Watching my son as he walks with his walker, knowing that healing is coming, sitting by his bedside until it does.
This is a beautiful set, what a blessing!
Though my family is scattered and all busy, I am blessed with the presence of never being alone! Our Father and precious Jesus and Holy Spirit are always with me. I’m always thankful for all the encouragement I get from my family of friends the Lord has blessed me with here! Although we are not together ar this time, some day, we will all be together! How precious that will be! Blessings to you all and let us all pray that everyone might remember the true meaning of this season, the true gift of our Savior and may everone have a wonderful new year too.
I love that I have such a beautiful, loving family and so many amazing friends
So many things make my heart warm this Christmas……kindness from strangers, hard hearts that are starting to soften, children with their dreams and wishes, family and good friends to share it all with.
I am grateful for Jesus who saved me. Blessed with family and friends. I appreciate each day.this blog is such a blessing to me. Thank you for all your words of encouragement.
My heart will be glowing surrounded by my parents, all 4 of my sons, my new daughter-in-law, my boyfriend and my brand new granddaughter!!
2017 is ending in a tough season in our family. A breast cancer diagnosis and 2 surgeries for me and the unexpected passing of my Father-In-Law mixed with the joys and emotions of our daughter’s wedding. But in the midst of all of it, what still warms my heart is friends and acquaintances who reached out, prayed, sent a text, brought dinner, weeded our yard, mailed a card, ran an errand or more. Love in action. ❤️❤️❤️
In the worldly part of life these last two years have been rough. In Dec. 2015 I suffered an injury at work, two surgeries and over a years worth of therapy I was told I would not be able to do my job anymore. I was devastated because my job was what I did. It was what gave me joy. In November 2016 my husband had an accident on the job. After surgery and physical therapy he still does not have full capacity use and will most likely have permanent damage. I was diagnosed with lupus in April 2017. My husband while still out on workers comp, was fired from his job in September 2017. He was able to get COBRA insurance. After one month of paying for his insurance it was cancelled because the company had been sold. He’s still out on workers comp. We’ve depleted our savings.
Even though all of this is going on, I am seeing God in all of it. My husbands faith has grown tremendously. We are truly learning to live by faith. We are asking through prayer for a miracle only God can do that will allow us to stay in our home and take care of all the people his job allowed us too.
All this said, I am grateful for my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ to whom I can take my petition through prayer. I am grateful for my husband’s spiritual growth and I am grateful my security is not in the things of this world but in my God.
Oh my goodness — I LOVE those candles and those mugs!! Anyhoo . . . I think what I love and warms my heart the most is the wonderful concerts and music at this time of the year. I am so grateful to have made it through this difficult year; and I’m grateful for your emails of pure inspiration in my mailbox everyday!! Hugs!
A few special friends make my heart warm with gratitude this Christmas.
What warms my heart this Christmas is the gift of Immanuel, God with us.
My heart is warmed this Christmas season remembering how much God love me and knowing that He came down through His son Jesus so that I may be redeemed and saved!! My heart is also warmed by having both my daughters and my mom with me for Christmas!
It warms my heart to give a gift that touches another’s heart and gives them joy.
For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16
What better way of celebrating God’s gift than by giving to others, particularly to those in need.
My heart is warmed when I get to spend extra time with my family and friends. I am so happy and filled with joy when watching all the kids open their gifts and play with one another.
I have NO GREATER JOY than when I am seeing my grown children who now have children of their own finding joy in sharing Jesus’ story with them during this season of Advent! (really ANYTIME!) My daughter and son-in-law have a 19mo old foster daughter, Grace, who now talks about Baby Jesus all the time and it helps to have a real baby to help her relate…my son and daughter-in-law have a 4mo old daughter, Selah Hope, and have begun to read and sing the joyous song of praise to her (even during delivery they said her heartbeat was right in rhythm with Revelation Song!) Praise be to Him! That all the world will know!
My heart overflows with gratitude when I share warm moments with family and friends that I would not normally get to see during the year. Holiday memories are some of my very favorite, and they fill my heart with gratitude whenever I think about them!
My heart is warm with gratitude this year and I see excitement in my childrens’ eyes and hear the anticipation in their voices. I’m a mom to 3 elementary-aged kids (3rd, 1st and K) and they help keep my perspective in the simple things of the season — like the joy of candy canes and hot cocoa after school. Even more so remembering when we met the younger two for the first time almost exactly 3 yrs ago when God transformed our family through foster care adoption during a wonderful, crazy, emotional and amazing Christmas season.
I’m grateful that this Christmas both my boys and their wives will be here on Christmas Day. It’s been five years since either of them have been home on the 25th.
My heart is warm with gratitude this season for my family. As we are having some financial difficulties our whole family decided to do a “homemade gifts” exchange. Not only has it eased the burden of shipping but we have enjoyed thinking of what we can make for each other. I have made some inspirational drawings, my oldest son is making rainbow loom bracelets, I’m helping the 4 year old make salt dough ornaments and my husband is making his family-famous zucchini bread for everyone! It’s been so wonderful to see all of us think about what we can do from our hearts and with our gifts. I am also looking forward to seeing what everyone else comes up with!
This past Sunday, a woman at our church came up to my husband and I and gave each of us a small red Christmas stocking. She wanted to thank us for being a blessing to her this past year as she hugged us with tear-filled eyes. My husband and I both filled up because we started attending a new church at the beginning of 2017 and she was one of the first people we met. We always make a point to say hello to her and she told me one time that she is a widow. I estimate she is only in her late thirties or early forties so I felt so sad for her. Although she did not tell me outright, I felt that she was struggling financially. So the fact that she bought us 2 small stockings as a thank you makes me cry every time I look at it. You just never know how just a hello and some kind words can have such an effect on people. We all want to be seen and valued.
P.S. I have the Nativity Hurricane Candle Holder Trio and agree that it is so beautiful. I think I will take Mary’s advice and keep it out year round!
This is only my second year leading the music at Christmas at our church. We sang “Hark the Herald” last weekend and I am filled with gratitude for those members of the choir who worked so hard to present this music, in the hopes someone would be touched in a special way.
My grandchildren! I
Am so blessed
My heart is warm with gratitude this Christmas when I think of so many blessings I received in 2017. A new job in ministry, close friends who encourage my heart each week, my husband starting a new job in 3 weeks after 5 months of being unemployed, wonderful kids, blessings from the pulpit….I could go on!
*Blessed.
Dear sisters,
Thank you for this fun giveaway! 🙂 What makes my heart warm with gratitude is how Jesus reveals himself in my marriage. My husband Joel and I are going on two years married. What seemed like glaciers even just weeks ago are now like ice cubes. I’ve been so humbled to learn of my unforgiveness and hard heart. But God’s mercy is endless and unstoppable! He truly set us free! And what’s more, he has included us in his kingdom! Let’s praise Him forever brothers and sisters! ❤️
Warmth and gratitude fill my cup this year with grandkids and our growing families! 🙂
I must admit that in the last few months, God has been doing an awesome work in my broken life. Oh, don’t get me wrong, I’m sixty-four years old and I’ve seen many blessings and miracles over these many years. However, in the last few months, since July actually, my God has shown me more of how good He, my Abba Father, is to me. He not only saved me, but He gave me my life to glorify Him, and I’m just beginning to realize how to share Him. My God is so good and always good to me; always with me, even in the bad times, never rejecting me. How can I not be thankful to My God, who knows what is best for me now, later, maybe never. Even when I don’t see past the hurt, shame, rejection of others, and not being in control, I’m learning He, my God/Savior/Lord, is always with me.
As the Christmas season is here, I’m so thankful for the love and the warmth I feel when I’m with my family. I love the laughter and the love we share as we sit around the dinner table and talk about whatever comes to mind. I also love the sense of peace and joy that I feel knowing that Jesus loves me enough to come and be born in a lowly manger only to grow up to be a man who one day would give His life for me. My church choir has been practicing for our Christmas Contata and I can’t help but smile when I sing these songs knowing what Jesus has done for me. Christmas to me is not about presents or lights, but about taking the time to slow down and reflect upon who Jesus is and what He’s done for me.
This Christmas Eve, my heart will not only be filled with the warm anticipation of celebrating Jesus’ birth, it will be filled with gratitude for my daughter and her fiance as they say “I do.” Tucked away in a beautiful lodge, two families will be united through marriage. And we are grateful beyond words…
(In) Courage,
My gratitude comes from God alone. He is always there no matter the situation. Grateful for a loving caring husband sent to me by God!! He has also given me a wonderful caring, loving church family. There are always praying no matter the problem. He is awesome giving me what I don’t deserve. Happy Birthday Jesus!!
Blessings 🙂
I am grateful for so many people God has placed in my lives, how He has shown me so much patience, love, grace, and mercy in my life, despite my disobedience.
Thankful and Grateful for HIS Amazing Grace!!!❤️
I am grateful that our Lord is always watching over me. I am having surgery in January and have full peace knowing that He loves me and takes care of me.
My heart is warmed when I hear from our adult children living far away. Especially our youngest daughter who is a missionary in Guatemala and our son is in the navy. What a year 2017 has been. Hubby had major back surgery in May. Praising the Lord at the difference this made in his quality of life. Our son is assigned to the USS John S. McCain, which was in a fatality collision near Singapore in August. My heart aches for these men and women’s hockey lost their friends and shipmates. As I saw the tray, with the world map, it reminds me of family scattered a round the world, of our missionaries and those serving in the military stationed far from home this Christmas season.
My heart is warmed this season every time I get to spend time with my precious family, especially my little niece. This year has been full of heartache. Everything from health problems to breakups to homelessness. It is nice to be surrounded with loving, joyful people celebrating this season of hope.
So grateful for my loving, strong, hard working husband who has been my rock for 22 years. And for our Heavenly Father patiently teaching us to be still and wait upon Him.
This year, i’m especially thankful for having “survived” the uber-painful shoulder surgery I just had. This includes thankfulness for the surgeon’s skill, my P.T., and my husband (whose hand I nearly broke while undergoing said PT)
Refelcting on Mary’s pregnant travels reminds me Im thankful for modern conviences, like cars. But what warms my heart is watching my children enjoy the season. A favorite snack of ours is hot chocolate and popcorn!
Last night I snuck to my daughter bedroom door and listened to her sing herselff to sleep with Christmas songs about Jesus. These are precious moments that are sheer joy!
What warms my heart with gratitude this Christmas are the wonderful friends that the Lord has given to me who have helped me through difficult times and who have encouraged and inspired me on my faith journey
The thing that warms my heart at Christmas is seeing my children faces light up when they see all the gifts under the tree. It makes all the working overtime worth it.
This may sound a bit strange, but I am so glad that God has given me a grateful heart. He prompts me to see His blessings all around and to appreciate/recognize His amazing love and grace and peace and joy and… As I often say, God is good! And… He’s good to me!!!
My heart is full when I’m surrounded by Christian girlfriends who know how to laugh hard most of the time and cry gently when necessary with each other.
What makes my heart full of gradate this Christmas season, people! The people who love me, the people I love. This life is a vapor and we never know who will be here next Christmas, so, love everyone….big…..big!
My heart is warmed by family and friends.
Being on a church staff, I am so grateful when we gather for our Christmas Eve service. For me, it’s the culmination of all the prayer and work we have put into the past year as we strive to honor God in all that we do as a church. Surrounded by my church family celebrating Jesus’ birth is a precious time that I cherish.
I am grateful that Jesus came !
My family. And Christmas tree lights
What warms my heart at Christmas is spending time with my children and grandchildren, and my wonderful husband. God has blessed me with so much, how could I not be thankful? Thank you for this chance to win. If I were to win, I would share these gifts with friends.
This has been a year of major transition for our family. New job, new city, new baby. We sold our first home and have been living with my parents for the last 6 months while we house hunted. This Christmas, I am grateful for our 2 healthy kids, a new church, a roof over our heads, and finally finding the right house!
My heart warms with gratitude from being able to spend time with family and friends this Christmas that I rarely get to see because they live out of state. I am so excited to be able to hang out with them and enjoy the holiday together.
What’s warming my heart right now is watching my high school and college aged kids make decisions for serving God. I have two looking at missions trips, and one looking at a summer internship at a church. It makes my heart sing and my face smile
My heart is full and happy on Christmas night. The one night of the year all of my children are under 1 roof. The laughter and love of siblings (even grown ones) overflows my heart with happiness and pure love!
brandybarger@gmail.com
I’m grateful for podcasts and blogs and email newsletters that nourish my soul and help me draw close to God, even on grey days. 🙂
I am grateful for God’s Word, for early mornings and quiet moments and the way He speaks his word into the hard places of my heart and then whispers it to me even in the crazy parts of the day. I am also grateful for the words of others that God uses to speak into life as well.
This season I am so grateful for my 2 sweet, healthy boys and that I get to wake up every morning next to my best friend who is also my hubby. God has blessed us with loving parents and precious nieces. But the best gift is God’s forgiveness and unconditional love every minute of every day.
My heart is filled with gratitude as I read different Christmas and Jesus focused scriptures with my kids each day. My gratitude comes in the fact that I am so unworthy and ill equipped, but God still chose me to raise his two precious children! I’m given an incredible responsibility and blessing in taking responsibility to raise them in the way they should go. It fills my heart as I get to share with them why I love my God and what He’s done for me and them!
Just finished our mission church’s Christmas dinner. I enjoyed decorating and making our small fellowship hall festive and welcoming. Two of our grandchildren are coming up on Friday. Spending time with them and our family and starting the week with a candlelight Christmas Eve service makes my whole season.
My heart is so warm with gratitude this year for a God who stood by me through a job loss. Christ is there through all those seasons. All things are made new again. Life ultimately has the final word! Fir that I’m so grateful.
My heart is warm when all 3 of my grown children are home and we’re sitting around talking and laughing. There is no greater joy for me in this world.
My heart is warmed by my gratitude to God for His watchful care over my two college students and returning them home for a family Christmas.
May He warm all your hearts with His love this Christmas, too!
So thankful for God’s blessing this season! I look around and know we have more than enough and too quit taking it for granted!!
Giving presents and making people happy make my heart feel warm in Christmas.
I am so grateful for Christ who, years ago, forgave me and made me new. Learning more and more about His grace and what it means for my life warms my heart and fills it with gratitude.
Spending time with my grown daughter is what fills my heart to over-flowing!
What make my heart warm with gratitude this Christmas is spending time with my granddaughter. She was born in Sept of 2016 as a micro preemie only weighing 1 lb. 2 oz. She is now a healthy growing 1 year old weighing 15 lbs. and celebrating her first Christmas at home. Last year she was still in the NICU at Christmas and didn’t come home till,after the new year. She spent the first 5 months of her life in the hospital. We are so blessed with this precious miracle baby. Thanks for chance to win and God bless you all.
Warmth & Gratitude for all my family & friends & watching the world through each & every being of strength we take each day .As we pray & hope for peace in the world…
I am full of gratitude that the Star of wonder has guided me to my home amongst family each night & will guide me to my everlasting Home. This year has been full of tears, changes and inconsistencies yet, THE star of Heaven & Earth remains constant & bright. When suddenly we lost our Jeremy at the young age of 33, He consoled. Through feelings of inadequacy, He encouraged. With abrupt change of my BFF & sister moving, He assured. As my Mother & husband both underwent intense surgeries, He comforted. I am so very thankful for His faithfulness even with my failures. He has blessed me with the bond of a close family and the grace to make it through each day. That day is so much better when I allow Him to guide me to His perfect light.
Singing Christmas songs with my 4 year old granddaughter before she goes to sleep at night. Her favorite is “Happy Birthday Jesus “!
My heart is warm this season by my little family. We are going to have a low key Christmas this year. So good for us after a busy year.
My heart is warm with gratitude when I reflect on fond memories, those of family and those of Christ. I am so blessed to see so many deliberately spending more time with Him during the Christmas season. I am blessed and thankful to know that the closeness with Christ that we pursue during the holidays does not have to end when the decorations are put away. He is here for all of us…all day, every day!
The Lord has filled my heart with love and compassion for others especially those who are going through difficult times. I have seen Him work in situations and provide way more than I thought possible. This has given me more joy than I have ever had for Christmas – kind of a snowball effect – I just want to give more and more.
I am grateful that God has a good plan for my life. I’m grateful that he never gives up on me. I may stumble, but he is there to pick me up and guide me forward.
When I look at all of the”unexpected,” yet perfectly planned and allowed by God, moments this year, I so clearly see the ways in which God also “provided the strength of the resources to meet the challenge or trying of our faith head on. His sovereignty and care are astounding.
I am so encouraged by your posts, that encourage me to keep going, and never give up! As the sole believer in my family, I want to be a light bearer and with your encouragement I trust that I am being just that !
Thankful for you all
My mom is suffering from 2 kinds of stage 4 cancer – she also lives 2,000 miles away from my family. Our family was blessed and given airline tickets to see her during the Christmas break – something we never, ever could have afforded. The blessing of this undeserved gift is overwhelming! I am so grateful.
This giveaway warms my heart, These gift’s are so precious in sight. but, O’ how they would be so warm in our home this year. I love this site. All your (in)Courage your bring. Merry Christmas. See this year, we are leaning on others for our Christmas treasures, my husband lost his job, we are called into ministry, like us all. And find ourselves in a place of learning to wait on God, who has provided for our every need, a roof over our head, food in the pantry, and love of others kindness to give. And we have learned God is Faithful and we are content in this place of need.Thank you for the chance to hold these gifts in our hands. Tonya
Spending time with family and having the privilege to teach my little ones about Jesus makes my heart warm with gratitude
Another year celebrating Christmas with my mom is a gift for our family! I feel so much gratitude that we have been surrounded by family this year during Advent and have spent this month cherishing time with those who are important to us.
My heart is warmed by gratitude when I reflect on how God carries us through every season. Last Christmas I spent in the hospital recovering from an intensive surgery in lots and lots of pain, but as I think of all the God moments, friends/family that came to visit, my dear husband that spent 5 days by my side at the hospital, and a wonderful team of skilled doctors and nurses it brings tears to my eyes! I was so blessed as friends/family cleaned my house, brought meals and shared encouragement to pushing on for the months to come as a recovered. GOD IS SO GOOD!
My heart is warm with gratitude for just the simplicity of being at the table…seated with Christ…thank you JESUS for inviting me!
My heart is so fulll of gratitude when I get to spend time with my family during Christmas
These look great! I have the necklace and love it. It’s a great reminder for me and gets compliments that start great conversations!
I love that I can spend some special time with my family and relatives. So glad God made a way for us to be saved from ourselves and sin through the birth of Christ. This year my brother is visiting for the first time in a decade!
I am blessed by a Christmas that touches the heart… not just the external things of Christmas (lights, decorations, etc. – which I do love, by the way!). But a Christmas that comes quiet and gentle, and touches us with the love of a Savior. A Christmas gift that is full of hope and is wrapped in eternity. Amen and amen!
Being able to give the gift of encouragement and love to someone who needs it!
Thank you to all of you at (in)courage for all that you do! We appreciate you!
Being still, taking time in this busy season to simply be and reflect on all the blessings in my life and praise the one from whom life flows.
My heart is warmed especially this year by the simplicity of God’s gift, the true meaning of the season, and the blessing of my loved ones here around me.
It’s been a crazy year, which left me feeling behind and overwhelmed this Christmas season. At the beginning, I felt like I was going to “miss” the whole holiday.
But through much good encouragement from many different sources, God kept speaking simplicity to me this year. So I’ve dropped many of my expectations (although I love all things Christmas!), to endeavor to focus on the few things that really matter.
I cut my finger tendon in the spring resulting in surgery and a surprisingly long recovery, but that pales in light of more recent events. My husband went in for stints to open blocked heart arteries, and was told that he needed bypass surgery instead. He had so many blockages, the doctors wouldn’t allow him to leave the hospital for risk of heart attack!
We are SO thankful that the surgery went well and he’s recuperating nicely, even now getting back into “normal” routines. But we are especially thankful that he had the early warning signs that led him to his doctors, and avoided heart attack with much less favorable outcomes.
So even though things around me don’t look “perfect”, it is enough. It’s given new meaning to this Christmas season.
Blessings to all as you celebrate his amazing birth!
I am so grateful to have all my boys on Christmas break, starting today, and to make some memories with them. I am also excited to see lots of out of state family over this next week!
I LOVE Christmas!! It’s my favorite holiday! I’m thankful most of all for baby Jesus being born! That’s what Christmas is really about. It warms my heart to be able to give gifts to the one’s I love and also to those I don’t even know! I LOVE giving gifts! Thank you God for giving us the best gift of all and that’s baby Jesus!
I’m grateful for the grace and mercy God bestows on us each day. Family and time spent with them. We’ve been gifted with a brand new grandson this Christmas, and my heart is full. We’ve been given so much more than we deserve…salvation, home, family, friends, and I’m so grateful.
I am awed by our God Who made Himself a tiny helpless baby. He clothed Himself with flesh, just like us. The Lamb of God allowed Himself to be born in a stable where lambs are born. So that we hemmed in by darkness, could receive His light and be set free to not only be that light in the world but most of all to enjoy His amazing presence every moment. We have received His love, His peace, His joy!!!!!
This Christmas, talking with my daughter about the nativity and Jesus’s birthday is warming my heart. She is 2.5 years old and I want her to know this season is about Jesus and giving more than Santa and getting. Hope we both remember that every year.
My heart is filled with gratitude for the many blessings showered upon us each year. This year we celebrated the gifts of twin grandchildren and a new granddaughter, 40 years of marriage, a trip to Europe to celebrate, baptism of a grandson, and the joy of a family that all worship our Lord and Saviour. Thank you Jesus for sending your Son so that we may have eternal life!
My heart is warmed with gratitude during this Advent season by the knowledge that now matter how broken I may be, the Lord loves me anyway. I am blessed with a wonderful husband and son that I do not deserve but the Lord knows best and I am forever grateful!
My heart is warmed with gratitude during this season knowing that this gift of life comes from Him only! He came down so that we could be free! I love the way this season slows people to open up their hearts and share with others! What a beautiful testament that lives are worth our attention, care and love because Jesus came first and left us an example to follow!
My heart is warm with gratitude for all my loved ones (including the furry ones with tails!).
This is our first Christmas with our precious baby boy. He is 9 months old and so close to walking!! He brings me so much joy and his smile lights up the room. My heart is full of gratitude for this precious gift. I am so thankful God made me his mommy!!
I’m thankful for my sister who brought me Craving connection book by (in)courage. Until then I had never heard of (in)courage. I fell in love with the book and so many women who contributed. I love getting my daily email and have added those to my morning devotion time.
My heart is warm with gratitude for God sending His only son for me, so that I can spend eternity in Heaven with Him. Also for my family, our health, and the salvation of my friends and family.
I’m so grateful for how Abba is drawing me deeper into His heart. Through A. Voskamp’s advent devotional book I am drawn into more of who God is and how Jesus is what I truly need instead of all the trappings of life. So grateful for His continued Presence & Care for me.
Gratitude for God’s Word being always true, even in the midst of heartache. Gratitude for the family members and things that God has given to abundantly bless our family.
Grateful for family, friends and most of all God’s relentless pursuit and sticky love for me!
l am so grateful for the unending love of Christ at Christmas. While the world runs so opposite of what He wants, He continues to love us and give us opportunity to love Him back. I cannot wrap my head around the depth of His love. I can only share that love, how poorly at times, with those He has given me to love. Family, church, friends, what blessings He has lavished on me!! Oh, what a sweet Savior He is!!
I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the love of my dear friends. During a particularly hard week, as I reached out in vulnerability, my sisters supported my fragile faith and allowed me to draw strength from theirs. God’s mercy poured out to me through them warms my heart. Now that I am through the challenging week, I can look back and honor Him- and them- for the way they loved me.
I just love to see my nearly 4-year-old get so excited to count down to Jesus’ birthday! She looks forward to reading our Advent calendar devotional and placing that day’s ornament on the tree. Seeing Christmas through her eyes is amazing, and it helps me to get in the spirit even when life’s stresses threaten to divert my eyes from where they should be.
Living close to my daughter makes my heart warm with gratitude this Christmas.
I am so thankful for the health of my family! All these gifts are beautiful!
I am incredibly grateful for so many things this holiday season. My family and friends have been incredibly supportive and helpful while waiting for and recovering from back surgery. Being laid up for a while, I spent a lot of time praying and talking with God. As I get stronger I marvel at God’s work in my life. I am looking forward to health and happiness in 2018.
Grateful for God’s gift of grace & for the people he blesses my life with!
My heart is warm during this season when I see my kids so thoughtfully pick out gifts for others! They are beginning to experience of joy of giving vs receiving. The excitement they have over giving to others is contagious and fills me with such joy!
What makes my heart warm with gratitude? The knowledge that the Lord constantly seeks me. I step away and He pursues me. I sin and He convicts me. I lose hope and He supports me and builds me back up. I am joyful and He reminds me to praise Him in joy and sadness and rebellion and difficulty. I am not only thankful for Him, I am grateful.
What warms my heart with gratitude this Christmas season is it marks another year I’ve been blessed to have with my youngest daughter, taking care of her through this battle she fights with progressive MS. It’s also a time of new beginnings with my oldest daughter, who had all but given up becoming a mother, now four months along with child. I’m so thankful for my sweet husband who appreciates the sparkle i add in our home for Christmas, the decorations, the homemade candies and cookies, the Christmas music he may secretly wish I’d stop playing for a while. I am grateful for feeling that my sweet dad is near me in spirit though I wish I could look into his sweet blue eyes one more time. And I’m thankful that God blesses me each day with the strength and energy to take care of my daughter and husband and home. When I feel guilty that I am able to do what my daughter cannot, I remind myself that my good health blesses her as well as myself. Lastly, I am grateful for my precious little dogs who make me laugh even on days when it’s difficult to find a reason to. Merry Christmas to everyone.
I never really had a family growing up… never really knew what love was until my husband and our child. I’m so grateful for both of them. They are both amazing and precious gifts from God.
I am grateful for my family. The ones who bring joy in hard times. Who love each other no matter that others are grumpy.
I am genuinely overwhelmed with gratitude that My Father gives me this time of retrospect, quiet, joy, humbleness, busyness & family.
I recognize it as a genuine gift to me. No matter my circumstances, no matter where I’m sitting from December 1st-31st, I can find peace and always seek the Reason for the Season in all things. Thank you Lord, God for your generous Spirit, your gift of Jesus and your unending LOVE.
The Gift of Jesus warms my heart and soul. That The Creator would come to us as a tiny, helpless baby is astounding.
My five year old great niece gave her mother a Bible last Christmas. She wasn’t being raised in a churches home so it was surprising that she chose that when she shopped in her day care’s Secret Santa shop. Shortly after the new year, my niece decided they would start attending church. In the coming months, my niece faced a life threatening illness and after that was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. Through it all, both she and her daughter have grown and stayed positive and secure in His love. Truly began with a Christmas miracle ❤️
I am so thankful for my family and opportunities to serve and worship together.
Watching a movie and enjoying hot chocolate with my husband and son.
Grateful for the promise of Immanuel, God with us; for Christmas break & for avoiding the stomach bug!
I am grateful for good health
My heart is warm with gratitude thinking how Jesus brought me and my family from our Egypt (drought season) to our promised land now. Along the journey, I have learned to never ever again doubt my BIG GOD, I have learned to trust Him with the unknown because that’s what He’s really good at. He can see what’s ahead of me and what’s behind me and He has my best intention in mind. When I learned to trust Him completely, I see miracles took place in my life, in my son’s life and husband’s life. Oh what a season! Of grace and provision of us. Thank you Jesus!
I’m so grateful when God reminds me that He is with me. He calms my anxiety and fears and helps me to breathe and keep going. I’m so grateful, also, when God give me an opportunity to be a blessing to someone else. I love that at Christmas time I can show so many people in my life how much I love them.