#021 - Let’s Make Room for the Light of the World this Christmas Season

As Christmas is right around the corner, I'm going to take a little bit of a break from the hit splits podcast to just let you focus on Christ on this time. You know, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, I hope that you have a church that you can celebrate with. We had an amazing candlelight service this last week. We go to church on Friday nights and we're part of a big church and so we're not having a service this week on Friday night, but we're having the Christmas Eve service. So they did a kind of Christmas themed service this last week. It was so nice. There's something about just candlelight and, you know, just a reminder that Jesus is the light of the world. He came in to the darkness when he was born. He was that light that came into the darkness. And wherever you have darkness right now in your heart, I just pray that you would allow him and you would make room for, for the light of the world this Christmas season. So I just wanted to make this a short and sweet episode to just encourage you to take a deep breath, take some time, just really focus on Christ and making room in your heart. What obstacles are there in your path right now keeping you from Him? There's distractions, there's overwhelm, there's busyness, there's, you know, relationships. There's all sorts of things that could be in the way. And I heard my friend Laura yesterday was talking about how John the Baptist, he said, prepare the way for the Lord, you know, prepare the way. And it's almost like sometimes we can have all of these things, this rubble, these things piled up on that path between us and the Lord. And so sometimes we just need to take a moment to confess any sin and to recognize what is in the way. What are the distractions that are keeping me from the Lord or. Since you are here, you're probably a writer. What are the things holding you back from moving forward in your call to write, publish and market your books? So. So what could, you know, tweaks or what things could change in 2023 to help you move forward? So let me just pray right now. Lord, we just thank you that you are the light of the world. That right now I pray for anyone who has any darkness, any, any issues right now related to their writing, publishing or marketing. Maybe it's fear, maybe it's scarcity, maybe it's overwhelm, doubt, procrastination, perfectionism. It could be a myriad of things. But Lord, I just pray if there's anything holding them back, any darkness, I pray right now, just like lighting the candle, that your light would shine into their darkness and dispel the darkness in Jesus name, that your light would overwhelm the darkness, that you would push out the darkness in Jesus name, that anything the enemy is trying to bring upon them, you would thwart the enemy's plans for their writing, publishing and marketing. And we just thank you for them. I thank you for each of my friends that are listening right now. I thank you that they are sensitive to you, that they are wanting what more of you, that they are wanting to keep you at the center of their writing, publishing and marketing. I don't believe they'd be listening to this podcast if they didn't have that desire. So I just pray for them, Lord, I pray more grace upon their life, more mercy upon their life. I pray that you would just fill them with your presence, your love, your power. Lord, we just thank you for them. And I just pray, God, that you would just help them to make room right now, just even taking a nice deep breath, making room in their heart for you. That this season, but not just on Christmas every day, to really be seeking you first, just as we talked about in the last episode, seek first the kingdom of God and then everything else will be added. Matthew 6:33. So we thank you, Lord, that as we seek you first, as we make room in our hearts for you, as your light comes into any darkness that we have, that you will be glorified. It will be for your glory, for our good, and we will give you all the honor, glory and praise in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Friends, I pray that you have a blessed Christmas and that no matter what you're doing, I know sometimes these holidays are difficult depending on the family circumstances you have going on, depending if you've lost someone, if, you know, you are struggling financially. I mean, there's so many reasons that this could be a difficult, difficult time for you. I pray that as you make room for Christ, that his light comes in to your darkness, that his encouragement comes into your life and that you can look back and say, you know, I had a wonderful Christmas because I had Christ. And so I know it's hard. I know it's hard. My. My parents divorced years ago and I was an adult, but it changed Christmas forever, you know, because it was like trying to go to two different places and, and just all the traditions, all the things, it just, it changed. And, you know, it's still good when we get together with family, but it's different. And then I lost two cousins when they were in their teen years and they both died right around Thanksgiving. And so Thanksgiving has always been a really hard time for my mom's side of the family. We used to always get together during that time and we just there, we tried for a few years and it was just too hard for everyone. And so I get it, I get it that sometimes holidays are hard. You know, C.J. and I have not been able to have children and so sometimes that crops up in the holidays when everyone's, you know, doing all the things around their children and, and we are not, you know, it's just. So the Lord is with you. He is with you and I just want you to know you're not alone if you are struggling and just pray that his light would come in and, and dispel all darkness in Jesus name. All right, friends, love you and I will talk to you soon. Bye. Bye.