“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom His favor rests.” Luke 2:14 ❤ Verse on Bible Hub

Just breathe …

One question we tend to ask each other this time of year is, “Are you ready for Christmas?” We ask our girlfriends and our coworkers. We even ask the checkout person at the supermarket.

A typical response might be: “Not even close! Still got this and that to take care of!”

How many times have we started early in November with good intentions and high expectations of enjoying the Christmas Season?

We begin early to fill out greeting cards, plan out the baking schedule, put up the Christmas tree, decorate our homes, and shop for gifts. Pretty much … make our ‘lists’ and check them twice!

We want so much for everything to be beautiful and perfect! And when something goes wrong, we’re disappointed. Our hearts and minds are full of schedules, lists, priorities and deadlines. With no room left for Jesus!

To have a perfect Christmas, we need to place our expectations in the right place … 

In Christ alone. 

Not in gifts, perfect circumstances or family members getting along.

And I promise you, Jesus will never disappoint! In fact, we may just make room for a life changing experience if we let Him be the center of our Christmas!

Just breathe Him in and breathe Him out. Slowly. Purposefully.

Allow Him to come into focus and all else to fade.

Repeat often …

Then gracefully permit everything and everyone else to be beautifully imperfect this year.

Christmas is coming whether we allow ourselves to enjoy it or not. I’m praying for you to be blessed this year!

We know of a young lady who prepared her heart and enjoyed the perfect Christmas.

The very first Christmas in fact!

400 years had passed since the Book of Malachi was penned. And in the midst of this extreme darkness, God chose to suddenly shine His light the brightest!

Luke chapter one is where Mary’s story begins. Six months after her cousin Elizabeth conceived, we find the angel Gabriel visiting Mary. Lets listen in:

“In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”

Confused and disturbed, Mary contemplated what the angel could have meant.

“Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give Him the throne of his ancestor David. And He will reign over Israel forever; His Kingdom will never end!”

Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”

The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and He will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. For the word of God will never fail.”

Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her. Luke 1:26-38 Verse on Bible Hub

I love Mary’s response, don’t you? She was initially startled by the angel’s appearance, but Mary completely yielded her heart to receive all the Lord had for her! She didn’t argue or resist.

In fact, she responded with a pure heart of faith and obedience and she enjoyed the privilege of walking out His promise and seeing it birthed.

God in turn encouraged her by sending confirmation along the way. I love when He does that!

A huge confirmation came just a few days later when Mary ran for the hills to visit Elizabeth. The Bible says:

At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored, that the mother of my Lord should visit me? When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy. You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said.” Luke 1:41-45 (Passage on Bible Gateway)

Mary responded with a heart full of joy. Praises spilled from her lips for her God in what is known as “The Magnificat: Mary’s Song of Praise”

Fast forward to a crisp evening in Bethlehem where Mary gives birth to Jesus. She lovingly and snugly wraps her sweet baby in strips of cloth and lays Him in a manger because their was no room for them in town. Luke 2:6-7 NLT (Passage on Bible Gateway)

Heaven rejoiced that night! A host of angels appeared to a group of shepherds in a nearby field. With the radiance of the Lord’s glory shining all around them, they sang praises to God! The shepherds quickly set out to find Mary and Joseph and when they saw the baby, they told EVERYONE what the angels had said about the child. And everyone was astonished. Luke 2:8-20 NLT (Passage on Bible Gateway)

Mary was not astonished.

I imagine she just smiled as she quietly sat beside her sleeping baby and took it all in. Another confirmation for her heart.

“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2:19 (Verse on Bible Hub)

Mary’s story is one of a surrendered heart. Sweet friend, I pray that we will surrender and prepare our hearts for His visitation this Christmas also.

“You will seek Me and find me when you seek me with all your heart” Jeremiah 29:13 (Verse on Bible Hub)

Just Breathe this Christmas xoxo

Are you ready for Christmas? Will you yield your heart to Jesus and make room to receive all He has for you? Heaven is cheering you on! And we are praying for you sweet lady!

A reader will be randomly selected on Thursday, December 14 2017. She will receive this ‘JUST BREATHE’ Locket from us as a Christmas gift. (Essential Oil not included)

❤

JUST BREATHE at https://www.freshgracefortoday.com

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