star shaped christmas lights

Peace in suffering at Christmas…in the gospel of Christ

We’ve flipped the calendar and here we are, entering Advent. So, we begin to sing the old familiar hymn… Hark! the herald angels sing,“Glory to the newborn King!” (“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” Wesley, C., 1739) “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” (Lk. Read more

red lighted candle

Emmanuel in my “Already and Not Yet” this Christmas

As God’s people waited for Messiah after Malachi’s prophecies, they heard no new words from God…for about 400 years. They thought God’s blessing would come after they’d restored the temple, but it didn’t come for many generations.  Had He abandoned them into darkness? Were their prayers falling on deaf ears?  Read more

pathway between green grass field

God’s song in the night, a song of joy

Joy? How can we possibly find any joy right now? How can we find joy when anger, pain, fear, and personal troubles seem to escalate weekly?  My heart has wearied this week, yet He beckons me through this Scripture. God’s song in the night You shall have a song as Read more

foamy sea waves rolling on sandy beach

Praising God for what is unseen

She bowed before her Lord in desperate need. “Lord, all I can see is suffering, pain, turmoil, unrest, evil. My anxiety is ramping up and my situation isn’t improving. Please help me find rest in this un-rest.  Help me to praise You, God.  Maybe today, help me praise You for what’s Read more

crop mother washing hands of child in bathroom

Interrupt Our Suffering by Serving Others in Love

This week, one of our sisters here at “Singing Christ’s Hope” has written something beautiful for all of us to ponder. Here are words of Heather Hooks, sharing her perspective: I have a radical idea – what if we interrupt our suffering by worshipping God? And what if that worship Read more

gray asphalt road surrounded by tall trees

Finding hope when it seems there’s no answer

My knee-jerk reaction to suffering is to research, scrambling for solutions, aiming to find a way to make things feel more comfortable. I want to fix things and quickly. I want an answer. Back when my illness was the worst, my desperation for health had crossed the line into idolatry. Read more

wood typography photography connection

Tune my heart to sing, Lord

When suffering seems endless and despair kicks in, thoughts of “why” and “how long, oh Lord?” can permeate our thoughts. We fixate on circumstances, trying to understand them, and then stress multiplies even more.  Our songs of praise feel out of tune, inauthentic, cacophonous, ugly, filled with discord underneath. Sometimes Read more

purple sky

Jesus Has Overcome! Christ is Risen! Victory in Jesus!

Jesus is alive! Hallelujah! What does His resurrection mean for us, as we remain on earth with its suffering? The effects of sin, evil, our enemy Satan, and resulting death can feel so strong when we’re suffering. For me, daily trials mean I’m often bombarded with the enemy’s darts, “what Read more

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