The holidays can be overwhelming. This year, help reduce your holiday anxiety by developing the practice of gratitude. Here are some tips on starting a gratitude journal and making it a habit.

The unending dark hours of winter can drain you. Here are 3 tips for surviving the long hours of nighttime throughout the coldest season of the year.

Whether the kids are back in school or you’re settling into a new workflow, fall seems like a good time for an adjustment to your routine. Here are four steps for setting goals (and sticking to them!) during the fall season.

A team of nine from New Haven UMC traveled to Birmingham, Alabama to serve Jesus through mission work in June! Here are 6 things I learned throughout the trip.

Talk about high expectations. Israel came to the Messiah with their expectations, and many of those expectations were understandable. “He will reign on David’s throne” and “The government will be on his shoulders.” This sounds like a governmental take over to me, which at the time of Jesus’ birth would have been welcomed by the Jewish people.

When I first came across this scripture, I thought, “Well this is kind of a weird one to have in a Christmas devotional.” I mean, it’s from the book of Galatians. The Christmas-y scriptures are usually pulled from Matthew and Luke because those are two of the books of the bible that talk about Jesus’ birth.

This section of scripture picks up right at the end of a story about King Herod. Quick recap: Herod was the ruler at the time when Jesus was born. He knew God was going to send a new King and he got super afraid of losing all his power. So, he found some scholars (magi, or the wise men) and sent them to find Jesus.

Then Herod secretly called for the magi and found out from them the time when the star had first appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search carefully for the child. When you’ve found him, report to me so that I too may go and honor him.”

The world was about to experience the greatest thing to ever occur. It was not going to happen in a huge metropolis, there would be no brass bands, no media blitz.

Only a little, quiet, sleepy, unknown farming community. The only sounds were from lowing cattle. Then, Jesus was born.

There is a lot to unpack in these two short verses. They are essentially the ultimate RSVP as they give us the who, what, when and where of who Jesus is, and who he is to become!

Going forward through this year and into the years to come let us be like the Shepherds and go out into the community and spread the word of Jesus’s birth and what great things he has done in each of our lives.

Take time today to think about how you are spending time seeking Jesus. Are you seeking him with all your heart or taking your time in the fields?

It was January 1986. The news we had just received was devastating. The surgery was over, and the diagnosis was Cancer. As so very many of you know, hearing those scary words puts you in a very dark place. As my husband, Mike, was in recovery, I sat in the Lutheran Hospital Corridor trying to find a quiet spot, just to be alone.

The Gospel of Luke is one of my favorites. Not only does it bring us the story of Jesus’s birth, but it is the beginning of our hope and the promise of an everlasting life. It is a reminder that no matter who you are, God has promised you a savior, and we no longer have to worry about being lost and abandoned.

This year, I had an experience that reminded me of this scripture.Fall is my favorite season. One day, I had hopped on the mower and collected the moderate blanket of leaves covering the back yard. Now, as I relaxed in the glider chair on the patio, I observed yet another thin blanket of leaves slowly starting to cover the grass.

Luke was not the first gospel written to capture Jesus’ story; however, his version provides a unique perspective. Luke was a man of science. He was a physician. He was also a Gentile. But most importantly, he was the first historian of the early church.

It is often said that “patience is a virtue.”  I wonder if that is just said to those of us who are impatient to make us feel guilty and try to be more patient. In today’s world we have everything at our fingertips. Have a question…google it and get the answer in seconds. No need to spend hours in line to buy something… just go online order what you want and have it delivered to your house.

Whenever I read about Mary’s reaction to the news that she was pregnant with our Savior, I am so amazed. I remember when I found out I was pregnant for the first time. We had been trying for over a year, so to say I was elated is putting it mildly. Unfortunately, my husband was deployed in a combat zone, and I had no way of telling him.

Mary had just been told by an angel she would become pregnant through the Holy Spirit. She also was told by the angel that her relative Elizabeth was six months pregnant, even though Elizabeth was well beyond childbearing age and thought to be barren.

Waiting is hard. Especially during the holiday season. In todays society we are used to getting things instantly. Maybe you are waiting for gifts to be delivered or for a website to load. No matter what you’re waiting for, good or bad, big or small, it can get frustrating fast.