My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God, my savior - Luke 1:46-47

Have you ever been in trouble?  Realized you were in pretty hot water and not sure what to do?  Unfortunately I have and I did a lot of maneuvering before coming to the realization I better own what I did.  Our sweet Mary, mother of the Savior of the world, found herself in a very unexpected place...through no fault of her own.  We get our first clue that this is really big when the angel of the Lord says to her: "you have found favor with God" (Luke 1:9).  Whew...at least she's not in trouble with Him!  It was a mystery, but she took this sudden turn of events and took it for what it was...a tremendous privilege and gift from God.   Nancy Leigh DeMoss says about her:

What gave her life significance was her relationship

to Jesus...and it is what makes all the difference in

our lives as well.

Listen to Max Lucado:

Christ grew in Mary until He had to come out.

Christ will grow in you until the same occurs.

He will come out in your speech, in your actions,

in your decisions.

Mary didn't try to cover this up or change the circumstances.  This ordinary woman took an extraordinary assignment and rejoiced!   Have you made a place for Him in your life?  Have you "treasured in your heart" (Luke 2:19) His gifts to you and yielded to the plans He has for you?

Listen to Ann Voskamp:  "There is no need to produce or perform or perfect - simply become a place for God.  That is all."

You don't have to make Christmas happen - He has given us His Son as a gift - receive and treasure!  Merry Christmas, sweet friends, and rich blessings on your 2015! 

For further study:  Ezekiel 36:26, Job 23:12, Psalm 46:10,  Psalm 51:10, Proverbs 3:5-6, Jeremiah 29:13, John 3:27, Ephesians 2:10, Colossians 1:27, James 1:17.

Love,

Holly