Erin Ulerich

White Water Rafting & Christmas

The sounds of rushing water grew louder as we approached the turn in the river.

I tightened my grip on the t-handle of my paddle nervously.

“Listen to my commands.” our guide reminded us.

We plunged into the raging waters.

“Forward 2!”

There was splashing water, rocks on every side, and no time to look around. My eyes were on my paddle as I listened intently for the guide’s commands.

After making it through, we raised our oars in a group high-five, adrenaline and relief coursing through us.

But there was no time to relax; our guide was already preparing us for the next set of rapids and the commands he would use. He also told us what to do if we fell out of our raft. He wanted us to be prepared, no matter what happened.

We appreciated the fact that he talked us through each rapid before we got to it. No one doubted him or questioned him. We followed his instructions.

Why did our entire raft follow our guide? Was it because he was a nice guy? Or because he made us laugh? What made us trust him to get us through all the different types of rapids on this river?

He had been down these rapids before. He knew what to do to make it through safely. And he was in the raft with us, with each rock we got stuck on, each wave that knocked us sideways. He was with us, guiding us through each moment.

And that reminds me of Christmas.

It is a perfect picture of how Jesus is with us in every moment of every day. In the calm moments before the rapid, in the middle of the chaos, and afterwards, even if we fall out of the raft. He isn’t shouting commands at us, though. We have His Words in the Bible and those words will guide us if we focus on them.

Like the guide and the rapids, Jesus walked through this world. He has experienced the things you and I are experiencing. And He did that so He could guide and encourage us in every moment of our days, right here in 2022.

Our rafting guide never had to remind us that he was with us in the raft. We were very aware of our dependency on him.

But remembering that Jesus is with us and responding to life like He is with us takes time. Our hearts are quick to forget, especially when we feel like we are in control. As we get to know God and read what He says in His Word, we become aware of our dependency on Him in the rapids and the calm.

And better yet, He is a guide that will never fail us. We can trust Him.

The Psalms are a great place to begin seeing our dependence on God. “David kept his mind so intently fixed upon the providence of God, as to be fully persuaded, that whenever any difficulty of distress should befall him, God would be always at hand to assist him.” (Martin Luther)

We can also focus on God’s care and provision for us so much that we become convinced that He is always with us and working on our behalf.

This is Christmas in everyday life.

Heritage Ukraine Knows How to Pivot

Pivot is a word that pops up from time to time.

During the pandemic businesses had to pivot to stay open. Many began offering curbside pickup. Churches began streaming church services. Drive-through doctor appointments became a thing.

But what does it mean to pivot? I think it means identifying a need and changing what needs to be changed in order to supply that need.

To pivot, the goal or mission of a business or organization doesn’t change, but the way to reach that goal needs to be adjusted slightly.

Pivot.

My friends at Heritage Ukraine have been pivoting constantly for the last 100 days. Beginning February 24, they’ve had to pivot in order to care for those God has placed in their path. The ministry plans they had for the foreseeable future ended as the Russian army moved into their country.

Overnight they began meeting immediate needs. Helping families evacuate, gathering and delivering food to those who couldn’t leave, making thousands of sandwiches to give to refugees at the train station.

At a time when they would normally be planning for the weeks of summer camp at CAMP LELA, they gave away their camp supplies to those who needed it.

Slavik and Alyona and their team at Heritage Ukraine know how to pivot. And the Lord is using their flexibility and their obedience to His leading. God is working in the middle of this horrible war. He is providing.

And, as a wonderful surprise, God has opened a way for CAMP LELA to happen in July. Their Facebook post shows their excitement – Look at all the exclamation marks!

Camp LELA 2022 in Romania!

As the war began we didn’t even think of the camp for this year as Heritage is so focused on war relief around its region. However, God opened us an opportunity to do a camp in Romania for Ukrainian refugees!

Three camps will take place in the month of July! We need your help to make it possible! Click here if you would like to support camp LELA 2022 for Ukrainian refugees in Romania.

If you want a glimpse of what is happening on the ground in Odessa, if you want to see ways that God is providing things that seem impossible, if you need encouragement in your day, or want to know what you can do to get involved, follow Heritage Ukraine on Facebook or Instagram.

I designed a wallpaper for my phone to remind me to pray for my friends in Ukraine and I would love to share it with you! The original painting was done by our talented friend Miss Allie McCoy. Click on the image to download these beautiful sunflowers for your phone!

Words to Live By

These words were the last ones I said each morning as my son walked out the door for school.

They came after the “Do you have…” checklist and the “Have a great day” hug.

Remember WHO you belong to.

I said these words as he walked out of the safety of our home and into the day.

I picture them wrapping gently around him, a scarf on the good days, a forcefield on the difficult days.

When I began saying these words, he would step back into the house and wrap his arms around me. I would rest my chin on his head, squeeze extra tight, and say a quick silent prayer.

It is a sentence that carries the weight of history, his and mine. They are words that bring difficult days to mind and words that remind us that we are different people in the present.

We are different because we remember WHO we belong to.

These are words of growth. Words that we all need. Words to live by.

Sometimes we need these words because we feel alone. We weren’t made to be alone. We were made for belonging.

The Junior High years were years of growth for my boy. I picture the struggle of a seed pushing through its outer shell, inching through the dirt toward the warmth of the sun.

Years of growth can hit us at any stage of life. These are moments when we choose to push toward God’s truth or we let others sidetrack us.

It is so easy to get sidetracked when we feel alone, isn’t it?

Sometimes we need these words because we’ve pushed everyone away. We want to be free – however we define freedom – and yet we are not made for this type of freedom, or self-reliance or independence. We were made for belonging.

This was my story. Pushing all restraints away until freedom became a free fall. I was untethered, unsure of who I was because I didn’t really know WHO I belonged to. And trying to belong to anyone else doesn’t work because we weren’t made to belong to each other. We can’t carry each other like that.

But we can help each other remember WHO we belong to.

So, to the graduates in my life, to those at the beginning of a new stage, to those who need to begin again. To those who feel like you are floating along, who feel like you don’t belong. Lean in and let this truth soak in. You were made for belonging, and this is WHO you belong to.

You belong to the God who created the heavens and earth by speaking it into being. He is that powerful, and yet involved in the details of your life. He cares about you so much that not a hair can fall from your head without His permission.

You are loved:

God created and formed you out of love. He holds you in His loving and powerful hands.

He works events and circumstances for your ultimate good even when it is difficult to understand.

He rescued you from the power of sin and offers you lasting life.

You have purpose:

He has good works for you to do, and He prepares you for those works.

He invites you to participate in what He is doing in the lives of those around you and in the world at large.

Our school mornings are over, but these words still wrap gently around my boy-turned-man as he walks out of the house. He often stops, gives me a lopsided grin, looks into my eyes and says, “You remember that too, Mom.”

When he says this, I step toward him, wrapping my arms around him in a hug. He towers over me these days, resting his bearded chin on my head. I squeeze extra tight and say a quick silent prayer, thankful for the truth poured into the fabric of these few words.

Remember WHO you belong to.

I’ve created two printables to help remind you of these beautiful truths. Feel free to share with a friend!

Four Things That Are Saving My Life Right Now

A few weeks ago on her podcast, The Next Right Thing, Emily P. Freeman shared 10 things that are saving her life right now.

I loved the simple way she flipped the script. It’s easy to list the things that are driving us crazy, or the ways we are so crazy-busy. We tend to hold those things like they are a badge. It’s a little harder to look at our lives with the lens of what’s saving our life right now. But it’s encouraging and life-giving.

I began looking for those things in my current crazy season, and I want to share them with you.

The first thing that is saving my life right now is taking a few minutes after I take the kids to school to sit down with a cup of coffee and read one entry of Heart Aflame by John Calvin. These are daily readings from the writings of John Calvin on the Psalms. The book begins with January 1, but I’m being a little rebellious and started it in March. At the beginning. The devotions are less than a page long, and I write a little prayer in the space at the bottom of each page. It has been a great way to begin each day setting my mind on truth.

The second thing that is saving my life right now are green spaces. I don’t really know why but driving past green pastures and rolling hills makes me happy and peaceful.

The third thing is breaking my to do list into smaller, bite-sized pieces. I tend to get overwhelmed in the crazy-busy, and dividing tasks into smaller tasks keeps me from getting paralyzed and not getting anything done.

And the last thing that is saving my life right now is having one clean space in the house to sit in. I have piles of writing projects, end of the school year things, scrapbooks (any other Senior moms pulling out all the pictures, or is it just me?) Having one space clutter free gives me a place to start my morning (see number 1) and to have friends sit when they swing by.

Over the next few weeks this pace will morph into summer pace, which has a completely different feel. I want to keep up the practice of naming the things that are saving my life instead of focusing on the things that are keeping me busy. It helps me appreciate and savor moments of peace in the middle of the chaos.

What about you? What is saving your life right now?

Searching for God’s Fingerprints in Everyday Life

If you could be like any detective, who would it be?

Would you be Maxwell Smart from the TV series Get Smart? He had plenty of gadgets, was sometimes distracted by his gadgets, was bumbling and clueless at times, but eventually got the bad guy in the end.

Or would you prefer to be like Sherlock Holmes? Stealthy, logical, highly intelligent, a master at finding hidden clues.

If I were to choose a detective that is most like me, I would choose a certain female detective who is well known by the 4 and below age group.

Dora the Explorer.

Other than the fact that she is animated, and Hispanic, and a child, we have lots in common. We both like to sing. We both like backpacks. Neither of us can read a map. But mainly, it’s the fact that in each episode the clues are right in front of her and she still needs help from the audience.

Yep. That’s definitely me.

Last week I encouraged you to look for God’s fingerprints in your life – evidence that He is with you in every moment and in every situation.

Looking for God’s fingerprints in our everyday lives is a skill to be learned. And once we get the hang of it, we will discover, like Dora, that His fingerprints have been right in front of us all along.

Why is this important?

If we learn to see His fingerprints in the moments of our days, we will begin to believe that we are not alone. And believing that we are not alone changes the way we see life.

It’s easy to begin. We can start with a simple prayer: God, help me to see You in my everyday life. Open my eyes and help me see that I am not alone.

I created a place to list the ways you see His fingerprints in your everyday life. Writing down helps us remember. It also gives us a record to go back and look at on the days when we are discouraged or weighed down.

Where can I see His fingerprints, you might ask. Where is the evidence that He is with me?

His kindness is evident through the simple, good things that all men enjoy: the rain, the beauty of a sunrise, a stranger’s smile. Happiness, goodness, celebration.

These things are not reserved only for those who trust God, but are given to all people, even those who are enemies of God. He is patient and merciful towards those who reject Him.

2.The way He restrains evil and sin in our world. As crazy as things are, they would be even worse if He did not hold back the tide of sin and evil.

3. The way God gives all people the ability to function within a society or in community: to care for one another and to show love and compassion to each other. The fact that we understand innately that some things are good and some things are evil and harmful is evidence that He is with us.

When we acknowledge that God concerns Himself with every aspect of life we will see Him working in all aspects of our life.

God, help me to see You in my everyday life. Open my eyes and help me see that I am not alone.

I’d love to know the ways God answers this simple prayer in your life. Share about it on social media and use #Christmasineverydaylife so you can encourage others.

Cultivating a Christmas in Everyday Life Mindset

Well, it’s January. Time to move on to the next thing, right?

Nope. Nope. Nope.

I’m going to throw out something really crazy: Just because December is over doesn’t mean Christmas is over.

We have decorations that we only put out at Christmas, food that we only eat at Christmas, and music we listen to only at Christmas. So it’s easy to see why we might feel like the Christmas story is only for Christmas.

We spend December celebrating THAT Jesus came. During our other days we walk in the WHY He came.

Why DID He come?

He came to be with us in our after-December-days, in our after-the-holidays-moments, in our this-is-so-messed-up struggles.

This is important to remember because if He is with us in these days, moments, and struggles, then we are not alone.

God knew that we could not navigate life in this world on our own without being crushed by the brokenness. We need God with us, we need His power living and working in us, we need His grace, His forgiveness, His redemption.

We need Him and He is with us, in every moment, in every situation. This is Christmas in Everyday life.

What does a Christmas in Everyday Life mindset look like?

Does it mean we wear Christmas sweaters year-round? Keep our decorations up? Do something really crazy and make peanut brittle or fruit cake in April?

We could, but that’s not really what it’s about.

A Christmas in Everyday Life mindset is one that believes that “God with us” is true in every moment, every situation.

It means praying prayers that are honest like, I don’t know what to do. I need Your help. I need wisdom.

Your Word says You are with me, but I’ve never felt more alone. Please teach me how to see you in my everyday life.

The manger is empty which tells us Jesus knows what it is like to walk through this broken world. He KNOWS.

The cross is empty because Jesus broke the hold sin and death have on us. He broke the brokenness of this world and began the process of making things right.

Because of this truth, we can walk through our days looking for the ways that God is with us. Looking for His fingerprints.

The definition of a fingerprint is “A unique pattern that presents distinctive evidence of a specific person.”

In mysteries, a fingerprint at a crime scene puts the person at the scene. In the same way, when we learn to look for God’s fingerprints we will see evidence that He is with us all the time.

It is something that we have to learn to do.

God often reaches out to us through the people in our lives.

My daughter has had a rough week. One of her friends called to check on her. And another came by with a hug and a gift. Those friends and the way they love my girl are God’s fingerprints in her life. They let her know she is not alone in her rough days.

He also speaks to us through His Word. Even if it’s just for a few minutes, reading God’s Word helps us get to know God and to see His hand in our life.

2 ways to Cultivate a Christmas in Everyday Mindset

Keep one Christmas decoration out that reminds you that God is with you. I chose a large ornament that has “O Come Let Us Adore Him” in beautiful script. It is hanging where I will see it every day.

Look for His fingerprints in your days and write it down. I created a place to list the ways you see His fingerprints in your everyday life. Writing down helps us remember. It also gives us a record to go back and look at on the days when we are discouraged or weighed down.

So, while the world marches on to the next thing, can we pause for a moment?

Can we ask God to help us see that He is with us?

Because if we begin to see His fingerprints in the moments of our days, we will begin to believe that we are not alone.

And when we believe that we are not alone, we will begin to live life differently – we will walk through our days with peace in our hearts and bold hope in our steps.

A Hope-filled Prayer for the Beginning of the School Year

Would you rather listen to this prayer and pray along with me?

Download a printable of this prayer.

Father,

We like things to be in order. We like schedules and things that can be measured. We like sending our children into a school year refreshed from a great summer, with new clothes, fresh supplies, filled with anticipation.

But these days, nothing seems orderly, nothing feels certain. We are sending our children into a school year with our words of worry ringing in their ears. With the burden of uncertainty on their shoulders. With hearts filled with anxiety. With little hope.

We confess that we have been looking in the wrong places for peace and hope.

The truth is as simple as the children’s song “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” and yet believing it isn’t easy at all.

The truth is that there is so much to be hopeful about. As we send our children into this new school year, with whatever it contains, help us to remember that they are in the palm of Your hand, and that You will use everything in their lives to highlight their deep need of You and Your strong, lavish love for them.

Help us to remember that you are working in the middle of this, and that you are up to something really good.

We confess that we’ve acted as if you’ve taken Your hand off of us throughout this Covid nightmare. Deep down we’ve believed that You’ve abandoned us and expect us to figure out this mess on our own.

The truth is that we have the “immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe.”

This power, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, is at work in us. Jesus is by Your side, governing the universe in ways that bring us good and bring You glory.

We don’t understand how a worldwide pandemic can be for our good and can bring you glory. But we trust you. We trust Your heart for our kids, and for us.

We pray that these uncertain times will draw our children’s hearts to the certainty of your love, your grace, and your goodness.

We pray that these uncertain times will help us to be bold in sharing your hope with others. That as we cling to You, the One who never changes, Your Spirit might work through us to encourage others and point them back to you.

We pray that we would experience the kind of hope that the world around us can’t give : a peaceful heart in the middle of uncertainty, footing when things around us crumble, security in the promise that we are not alone.

Help us, and our children, to rest on Your unchanging character and nature.

Help us to anchor our hearts to your truth.

Help us to stand firm, with Your Word wrapped tightly around us.

Help us to be bold, assured that you are with us every step of the way.

We pray this in the powerful, wonderful name of Jesus,

Amen

O Little Town of Bethlehem: The Loudest Quiet

My family loves to watch America’s Got Talent. You never really know what is coming up next.

AGT has the Golden Buzzer, a feature where, if a judge thinks a person or group is talented enough to go straight to the final round, they can push the literal golden buzzer to let everyone in the audience know that this group has special status. When they press it, golden confetti rains down.

There’s music and tears and much, much celebration. Everyone in that building knows when the golden buzzer is pressed. And everyone knows who was chosen.

And then, in sharp contrast, we have the little town of Bethlehem on that first Christmas, where something that had never happened…happened. God took the form of man, parted the curtain and stepped into human history.

Tthere were no cameras, no confetti, no fireworks, no parade.

In fact, it was just the opposite. No recognition. No room.

The Bible doesn’t describe what it was like for Joseph to register himself and Mary in the census. But I’m picturing long lines of people waiting, dust blowing in the hot breeze, kids pulling at their mother’s skirts. Mama, are we done yet?

When Mary and Joseph finally made it to the front of the line, I imagine the census workers checked off 2 adults and 1 child-to-be and yelled NEXT without even knowing Who this child actually was. That this child, whose presence they just checked off on a clip board, was the Messiah.

Suddenly I’m picturing the sloths at the DMV from Zootopia. Are you?

I think it is significant that Jesus came in the middle of a busy time – census, chaos, when Bethlehem was filled with people, weary people. He was lost in the crowd so to speak. He fell through the cracks. It looked as if He were insignificant.

He was born in a stable. Born in extremely poor surroundings. Even the best accommodations this world has to offer, when compared to heaven, would have been inadequate, but a messy stable?

And then there were the angels, the ones who actually grasped the significance of what Jesus left behind to come to earth as a man. They were so happy that they broke out in a glorious concert. Not in the middle of Bethlehem, not where the Jewish leaders would see it, but out in the countryside, with only a group of shepherds to witness it. And the shepherds… well, they weren’t really the right crowd to get the word out to the right people.

There were a few people who grasped what was happening. When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple in Jerusalem, Simeon and Anna knew who Jesus was because they had been waiting for Him.

Two people.

God did this amazing thing and then went about the marketing and PR all wrong.

Or did He?

I’m not the first one to think this. Jesus pushed against this idea during His entire ministry. The Jews were picturing a more aggressive Messiah, one who would take down the Romans.

But Jesus spoke to the weak, the looked down on in society – He healed those society had forgotten.

Jesus ate with sinners, talked to women, poked at the religious leaders. He chose a group of rag-tag men to be His disciples.

He did not behave right. He was doing it all wrong.

Or was He?

The greatest irony was that He came to show us what God is like and the ones who were supposed to know God didn’t recognize Him. The demons he removed from people recognized Him, but His own people didn’t really get it.

So what does this tell us, as we sit on this side of history? We who have the benefit of seeing how Christianity spread from this ragtag group of unlikely disciples to our lives today. Across the years, around the world.

At the very least, in the understatement of the year, It tells us that God’s ways of doing things are not the same as our way of doing things.

As we look closer, it also tells us that Jesus knows what it’s like to be looked over, to be misunderstood, to fall through the cracks, to not measure up to others’ expectations.

But He didn’t come to please others. He came to follow the Father’s will, to rescue the very ones who rejected Him.

And He kept His purpose always in front of Him.

The baby in the manger makes it possible for every heart to have peace with God. Every heart is important to Him, not just the ones the world deems important, not just the golden buzzer people.

He comes to those who acknowledge their need of Him. The people who know they are a mess and know they can’t fix the mess. And just when the hopelessness of that begins to sink in, that’s when He shows us that He came for our mess.

No ear may hear His coming, but in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in.

If you enjoyed this post, I know you will enjoy the devotions in my new book, In Unexpected Ways: Christmas in Everyday Life. Available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback. This is an affiliate link.

This post can also be found in video form on my YouTube Channel.

Come Thou Long Expected Jesus: Where Freedom is Found

What keeps you up at night?

Sometimes it’s too much caffeine for me. Sometimes it’s the anticipation of the next day.

But most of the time it’s because I’m feeling fearful or anxious about something. I rack my brain, trying to figure things out or trying to make sense of crazy circumstances.

And instead of finding solutions, I just lose sleep.

Dr. Dan Allender puts it this way in Hope When You Are Hurting, “But life is disturbing, and we struggle with what God is up to.“

Can I get an Amen on that?

How many times have you thought those very words, how many times have I said them? “God, what are you doing?” As hard as we try, there are times when we cannot figure out what God is up to.

Life is hard to figure out.

We live within layers of life, where things are happening simultaneously around us, to us, and by us, while we try to make sense of it all. When we try to figure it all out, we default to a formula where our life experiences shape our definition of who God is and whether He loves us.

Good things happening = God is good and happy with us.

Bad things happening = God is bad, weak, or mad at us.

This formula looks simple and easy to follow. But life cannot be lived through a formula. Life is complex and complicated, a mix of joy and sorrow at any given moment.

Instead of a formula, we must live by truth. This truth is a great place to start: We were not made to live in fear. The opposite of fear is trust.

Jesus came to set us free from the fears that keep us up at night. From the sin patterns that keep us feeling distant from God, We can find our rest in Him.

“He restores my soul.” (Psalm 23:3)

The word for restores that is used here means to turn away. The Lord turns our soul away. Not away from Him, but away from the things that harm our soul. He turns our soul back toward Him, where it is protected and safe.

God is constant and unchanging, while life around us swirls in chaos.

Instead of letting our life experiences shape our definition of who God is and whether He loves us, what would it look like if we let who God is and His love for us shape our definition of our life experiences? This idea is more than playing around with words. The difference between these two is the difference between hope and despair. I’ve experienced it in my own life.

The more we know Him, the more we know His tender love for us, the more we can trust His hand in our lives, even when we don’t understand what He is doing.

This life begins the process of being set free, of being released from our sins and fears, and of finding our rest in God. The process will be complete the moment we step into His presence, face to face at last.

If you enjoyed this post, I know you will enjoy the devotions in my new book, In Unexpected Ways: Christmas in Everyday Life. Available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback. This is an affiliate link.

This post is also available in video form on my YouTube Channel.

Joy to the World: The Plot Twist That Changed Everything

Aren’t the best stories the ones between good and evil, especially the ones where the fate of the world is on the line?

As I type these words, the Avengers movies come to mind.

Over the past few years, we’ve followed the adventures of the Avengers. As their saving the world storyline unfolded over 20 something movies, we also experienced the backstories of each Avenger. We got to know them and see the parts of their stories that revealed why they fought against evil.

And by the end of the last movie, The End Game, it became clear which Avenger would be the one to save the world.

I was not happy with the writers at the end of that movie. I didn’t want any of the good guys to die. I am a huge proponent of happily ever after.

But as I’ve rewatched the movies with the end in mind, I’ve spotted the clues, the trail of bread crumbs the writers sprinkled in one movie after another that revealed why the overall story had to end that way.

Are you ready for this?

It reminds me of the Christmas story, which is part of the ultimate battle between good and evil.

And in this storyline, Christmas was a definite plot twist.

It might seem foolish for God to step into history in the form of a newborn baby, the most vulnerable of all creatures, to go toe-to-toe with His enemy.

After all, the fate of the world, the fate of humanity, was at stake.

And yet, the clues are there, sprinkled like a trail of bread crumbs throughout the Old Testament.

The Christmas story is part of a larger story, a story that began before God said, “Let there be light.” A story that includes the Garden of Eden, the cross and resurrection. A story that is still unfolding.

The backdrop of the manger scene is the Garden of Eden. That is where our need for a Savior began.

God created this beautiful world and created man and woman in His image. As part of His image, He wove into our DNA a need for relationship, connection, belonging.

Satan did not bring an army in and confront God head-on. Instead, he slithered in and convinced Eve that the face-to-face relationship she had with God wasn’t enough. His words cast a shadow in her mind about the goodness, love, and intention of God.

Oh, how he must have celebrated as she and Adam bit into that fruit. The precious souls God created and loved had rejected Him. With that bite the beautiful world God spoke into being became enemy territory.*

And for a while it looked as though the enemy had won.

Then, at just the right time, God stepped into history.

It was the beginning of the fulfillment of his promise back in Genesis 3. It was the beginning of things being set right. The tiniest beginning of God bringing His world back to the way things are supposed to be.

The tiniest beginning that changed everything.

When we look at the first Christmas with the end in mind, we can clearly see why the Gospel is good news. Jesus came to be with us, to show us what God is like, and to do what was necessary to restore the broken relationship between God and man.

And the only response to that is JOY.

Download this free printable of Joy to the World by clicking here.

*Excerpt from In Unexpected Ways: Christmas in Everyday Life by Erin Ulerich

If you enjoyed this post, I know you will enjoy the devotions in my new book, In Unexpected Ways: Christmas in Everyday Life. Available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback. This is an affiliate link.

This post is also available in video form on my YouTube Channel.