Abounding in Hope
How to live a life with more
Advent is a busy time for families, but often we can get sidetracked with all the stuff. As we enter into the closing days of Advent this year, I want to encourage you to remember 4 words.
Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.
The four candles on the advent wreath are a visible reminder of what we are invited to focus on. But often we get more focused on the wrong stuff.
God doesn’t care if your advent wreath was lit each night.
God doesn’t care if your packages have perfect bows.
God doesn’t care if your house is adorned with Christmas lights.
What counts this season is what is in your heart, and how you show that to those around you. How do you want to remember this Christmas? What sort of memories do you want to form with your people?
I don’t want to add to the seasonal pressure –but rather do precisely the opposite.
This past weekend I had the privilege of joining a handful of women to spend the day praying and learning how to cultivate HOPE better. In my talk, I shared with the women the fact that hopefulness emerges when we have complete confidence that the Lord is in control and that we belong to Him. I told them that exercising hope deepens our trust and surrender to the grace of the Holy Spirit –because now all we want is what God wants for us.
I told them a lot of other stuff in the 50-minute talk too. And as I was praying and reflecting after the event, I knew that the Lord wanted the message of hope to be shared with more than just the women who were able to attend the event in person. On Christmas Eve, the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope begins. This is a message for all seasons and for all of us to hear.
So here it is.
My sweet friend and co-speaker, Nell O’Leary who spoke about peace at the same retreat had the same desire. She has an amazing substack so be sure you subscribe to her posts as well. Nell has included an audio file of her talk here:
If you follow her substack you may already have seen her post. She inspired me to share so enjoy both of these talks!