Tag Archives: Christmas

Letting Christ Shine In You At Christmas (Guest Post)

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Letting Christ Shine In You At Christmas
by Nike Chillemi

Nike Chillemi

Nike Chillemi

The Christmas season can get kinda funny when I start thinking about God’s will and plan for me. That’s true even though I dearly desire for God’s priorities to be my priorities.

Right after Thanksgiving, if not before, I’m in the Christmas spirit. Things seem a little lighter, a little brighter. You don’t have to be a believer to feel this. Lots of individuals who do not classify themselves as Christians have moments during the Christmas season when they get all warm and fuzzy inside and they can’t put their finger on why. I think the light of Jesus coming into the world as a tiny baby in a manger simply has that effect on people. As a writer, I love a good story and this story warms us inside.

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. [Gospel of Luke: 7-11 ~ KJV]

On the other hand, my schedule is so full during this time of year that even though I’m all wrapped up in holiday goings on, I can forget the reason for the season, as they say. Then I have to remind myself to slow down and let Christ shine through me. To do this, I’ve got to push aside the decorating, the cooking, the menu planning, the Christmas card sending, and make sure I’m connected to God, listening to Him, letting him direct the show.

But God will have His way and very often at Christmas He presents to me somebody with a great need, somebody who’s lonely… and I will welcome that person as a friend, include them at my Christmas dinner table, and/or get them a gift.

In my 1940s Christmas novel GOODBYE NOEL, pediatric nurse Katrina Lenart has been asked by the local police chief to care for an infant whose mother has been found murdered in front of a decorated Christmas tree. Katrina soon falls in love with the baby and we see Christ’s love shine through her as she sets her mind and will to protect this child from a heinous killer. At one point, Katrina risks her own life to save the infant from a kidnapping. I loved writing this Christmas story and particularly enjoyed crafting Katrina, whose faith grows and deepens as the novel goes forward through all the twists and turns of a murder mystery novel.

Goodbye Noel, by Nike Chillemi

Purchase Links:

Amazon/Kindle, Christianbooks.com

Author Bio:

Like so many writers, Nike Chillemi started writing at a very young age. She still has the Crayola, fully illustrated book she penned (penciled might be more accurate) as a little girl about her then off-the-chart love of horses. Today, you might call her a crime fictionista. Her passion is crime fiction. She likes her bad guys really bad and her good guys smarter and better.

She is the founding board member of the Grace Awards and is its Chairman, a reader’s choice awards for excellence in Christian fiction. She writes book reviews for The Christian Pulse online magazine. She was an Inspy Awards 2010 judge in the Suspense/Thriller/Mystery category and a judge in the 2011 and 2012 Carol Awards in the suspense, mystery, and romantic suspense categories. BURNING HEARTS, the first book in the crime wave that is sweeping the south shore of Long Island in The Sanctuary Point series, finaled in the Grace Awards 2011 in the Romance/Historical Romance category. GOODBYE NOEL, the second book in the series released in December, 2011 won the Grace Award 2011 in the Mystery/Romantic Suspense/Thriller category. PERILOUS SHADOWS, third in the series released July, 2012, and DARKEST HOUR, the fourth in the series released in February, 2013.  She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and the Edgy Christian Fiction Lovers (Ning).

Review: Goodbye Noel, by Nike Chillemi

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Goodbye Noel, by Nike ChillemiGoodbye Noel, by Nike Chillemi (Desert Breeze Publishing, 2011)

The year is 1946. In the fictional town of Sanctuary Point, on the south shore of Long Island, New York, life is getting back on track after the war. It’s Christmas time, and spirits are high – until Katrina Lenart finds one of her neighbours dead.

Who would murder this young woman while her baby slept in the next room? With the father nowhere to be found, Katrina gets permission to care for the infant. She is, after all, a pediatric nurse. And she lives with her parents, who will babysit while she’s at work.

Katrina and the detective assigned to the case, Ian Daltry, get off to a bad start but quickly fall for one another. Ian can’t forget losing his wife in a drive-by shooting, and he’ll do anything to keep Katrina, his daughter Amy, and baby Leslie safe.

But can he do enough? Why is the baby a target? And for whom?

Katrina is equally determined to protect the baby, and she quickly becomes Ian’s unofficial helper to solve the mystery.

Goodbye Noel is a fun mystery with plenty of clues and red herrings. It gives an interesting picture of this era, where children of immigrant parents still face discrimination (Katrina’s parents are Czech) and where there aren’t enough eligible bachelors to go around. It’s an elegant time, even for middle-class people like Katrina and her family, and we get to observe a high-society soiree as well.

Nike Chillemi has written four mysteries so far in the Sanctuary Point series. Goodbye Noel is the second. For more about the author and her books, visit her Crime Fictionista website.

[Review copy from my personal library.]

Review: An Unexpected Glory, by Marcia Lee Laycock

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An Unexpected Glory, by Marcia Lee LaycockAn Unexpected Glory, by Marcia Lee Laycock (Helping Hands Press, 2013)

Christmas pageants. Intensive practice and preparation, with so much pressure to get everything just right.

For Pastor Steve, there’s an extra weight. The annual performance generates most of the revenue needed to run the homeless shelter for another year.

The community loves this event, with its elaborate costumes and skilled acting. But the day before the show, with the bills adding up, Pastor Steve is told his actors—and their costumes—won’t be there.

He’s a man of faith, but he can’t face this. His assistant insists the show must go on—played by the men from the shelter. Can they possibly do an adequate job? Will the audience still donate, or will they leave?

An Unexpected Glory is a short, heartwarming tale of what happens when everything goes wrong—and how sometimes that means everything’s really going right.

Marcia Lee Laycock is a Canadian author and speaker. An Unexpected Glory is one of the novellas in Kathi Macais’ 12 Days of Christmas collection.

[Review copy provided by the author.]

Cookies and Mangers

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Perfection… the bar was set pretty low, I thought. I was making Christmas cookies. I don’t bother with fancy-decorated ones, but when I roll them out and cut the little shapes, I do like them to be intact and to look like they should.

The cookies weren’t cooperating. Some tore, but mostly they just clung to the countertop when I tried to lift them to the baking sheet, compressing their crisp shapes into long, thin caricatures.

All I wanted was to bake something nice for my family, and suddenly I was dealing with a “take every thought captive and don’t feel sorry for yourself” moment.

The moment passed, the cookies went in the oven, and look what came out. Don’t say God doesn’t have a sense of humour. Would it have mattered if they’d gone on the tray perfectly?

Christmas cookies

Can you tell what they’re supposed to be? Guess I didn’t get the recipe quite right — they swelled up and lost their sharp edges. If you squint a bit, you can find trees, stars and teapots.

But it got me thinking about how we want everything perfect. And about how messy, dusty, smelly and just plain unsuitable the Bethlehem stable was as the birthplace of the Saviour of the world.

Some suggest the stable was a blessing to Mary and Joseph, a haven from the noise, overcrowding and general mayhem of the guestrooms. Maybe so. It definitely made the shepherds’ visit easier.  But it was hardly “perfect”.

Look at what was perfect, though: the timing, the fulfillment of the Bethlehem prophecy, the willing mother and surrogate father, God Himself in human form. The symbolism: the Divine in a humble, earthly mess.

So maybe the lesson from my cookies is to discern which elements need my best efforts at excellence and which are “optional extras”. And to trust God’s perfect working even when I don’t meet my own expectations.

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What if Jesus Hadn’t Come?

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What if the Lord had not been on our side?
Psalm 124:1a, NLT*

What if the Lord had not?

What if Jesus hadn’t come?

Things are dark, but they’d be so much darker without the Holy Spirit working in and through His followers.

We wouldn’t have His presence with us in the happy and the sad.

Despair and hopelessness would be everywhere – if God hadn’t already brought final judgment.

We wouldn’t know as much of what God is like, or how to walk with Him, because Jesus showed us both. And how could we walk with Him? We’d still be alienated from Him by our own choices. We’d be cut off from Him in our sin, blinded and miserable.

But He took our side – He came – and so we live.

God our Maker, God our Redeemer, God our Sustainer, thank You that “the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.“** Thank You for Jesus’ life, His willing sacrifice and daring rescue, for His rising, His gift to us of the Holy Spirit, and for His coming again. Help us live in praise, gratitude and confidence in Your care. Help us love You in response to Your great love for us.

∞

Here’s “Joy to the World” as done by Third Day.

*New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

** John 1:14, NLT

Merry Christmas

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It’s Christmas Eve…

Thank you to everyone who subscribes to these posts or who comes here to read them. I pray for each of you the gift of joy and wonder at Christmas and into the new year.

Instead of a new review today, I’ll point you to a previously-posted one.

Seeker of Stars cover art Seeker of Stars is a novella about Melchior, one of the three Wise Men. It’s my favourite Christmas read, and it’s now available on Kindle at Amazon.ca and Amazon.com. [These links are affiliate links supporting The Word Guild.]

Here’s the link to my review of Seeker of Stars.

When the Wait is Long

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Jesus’ birth ended a period of 400 years of silence from God. The angel Gabriel had brought personal messages to Zechariah and to Mary, and we don’t know how young Simeon was when God promised he’d see the Messiah before he died, but these were private revelations. The nation of Israel as a whole heard nothing. Not even a whisper.

400 years.

No prophets. No angelic visitors. Silence.

A remnant of Israel had returned from exile and begun to rebuild, as God had promised.

He also promised a Messiah, a King to come who would rule in power and justice and break the people’s bondage for good.

Nobody expected the King to suffer and die first.

Nobody expected to wait so long.

400 years.

Are you waiting today?

God hasn’t forgotten, or changed His mind, or discovered He can’t do what He promised.

He’s waiting too, for the best time to unveil what’s coming.

May His peace, hope, love and joy sustain each of us in the waiting.

And Merry Christmas. Christ has come.

Joy Under Pressure

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As pressure and stress bear down on me,
I find joy in your commands.
Psalm 119:143, NLT*

If that’s not a Christmas-related verse, I don’t know what is.

All jokes aside, you can’t read Psalm 119 and not see how the psalmist loves the Law of the Lord, how he thrives on it. I’ve been praying to better understand and follow his example.

At first this verse didn’t make sense to me. Pressure and stress bearing down… and he finds joy in God’s commands?

Pressure: God is the ultimate authority. This verse reminds me to trust Him to care for me and to ask for equipping wisdom or deliverance.

Perspective: It’s not me against the universe. God is bigger than the problem.

Focus: Centering on God’s way builds an attitude of God-trust instead of futile human striving or fighting the circumstances.

Wisdom: God’s code of conduct helps us know what to do, how to act in difficult situations.

Joy: There’s no joy looking at stress, but there’s deep joy in belonging to God. Keeping His Law, precepts and principles as the Spirit enables us keeps the barriers down between us.

Life: The next verse says

Your laws are always right;
help me to understand them so I may live.
Psalm 119:144, NLT*

Doing it God’s way brings joy and life in the midst of stress. What’s not to like?

God all-wise and loving, we can’t do this on our own, and that’s one reason You gave the Law in the first place, to help us see our need. Help us learn and understand, and through Your Holy Spirit keep us focused and following. Thank You for the joy and life You give.

∞

The Newsboys’ When the Tears Fall is a song of trusting God through hard times. That’s not happiness, but it’s joy.

*New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

 

Radical Gratitude

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And the Light shines on in the darkness, for the darkness has never overpowered it [put it out or absorbed it or appropriated it, and is unreceptive to it].
John 1:5, AMP*

This is the verse that strengthened me after the terrorist attacks of 9-11. It’s the same verse that’s echoed in my spirit these past few Christmas seasons, each one leaving me more aware of the darkness in our communities and our world.

We think Christmas is supposed to be a happy time of year. But the darkness is why Jesus came. Israel of 2,000 years past was a pretty dark place, I’m sure, much like today.

His presence—Immanuel, God with us—still makes the difference.

As I’ve prayed for the people and situations nearest to my heart this season, at first the darkness was too much. This young girl—that young family—this elderly woman and her family… where they’re walking is unbearable. They’ve been heavy on my heart, and weighing down my spirit as I prayed. Reciting John’s words about Light in the darkness wasn’t helping.

A few days before Christmas God blew away the fog and let me see: I hadn’t been demanding why of God—that never ends well—but my discontent about what He had allowed said I didn’t think very highly of His management.

Judging God also doesn’t end well. And discontent is poison. Confession, forgiveness, and a fresh start work wonders, though.

Now I’m praying the same verse, but looking at the Light, practicing what Mark Buchanan calls “radical gratitude.”

Thanking God for what He will do in these people’s lives, instead of being dragged down by where they’ve been. Trusting that whatever His plans are, they’re for good. Not just praying for things to get better but for people to be made new and others to see the difference He makes.

Sovereign and holy God, who doesn’t tend to fix things, I praise You for how instead You re-create or make new. And the new is better. Stronger. Useful in Your hand. You waste nothing. Help us trust You. Show us how to pray in radical gratitude and praise, confident in our trust in You. Shine brighter in our darkness, until all will see Your glory.

∞

Permit me one last Christmas song of the year: catch the hope and the assurance in the words to “Joy to the World,” especially verses 3 and 4.

*Amplified Bible (AMP) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation