Today we are bombarded with so many signs and messages ready to distract us from the amazing Good News we are celebrating on Christmas and during the weeks leading up to that very special and holy day.  Today there are so many images, ads, status updates on Facebook, images on Pinterest, glossy magazine articles determined to convince us to focus on planning the “perfect” Christmas for our families focused on creating the perfect holiday meals…finding the perfect gifts…creating the perfect holiday environment in our homes filled with the perfect holiday decorations and with all of the stuff that goes along with it. 

We want you to know that it is our greatest desire to provide you an oasis in the midst of the noise of holiday preparations during the weeks leading up to Christmas.  We desire to provide you with a quiet place where you can stop, rest, breathe, and focus on the incredible purpose of the weeks of preparation and magic of the celebration of Christmas in sharing the Good News of the coming of our Jesus Christ.  Here you will find a place to breathe deeply of the presence of God and provide inspiration to help you to live out the excitement and challenge of the Gospel as you and your family prepare for Christmas in your real lives and help you to encounter and share our very real Savior. 

Today we are so blessed to have Stephanie Page help us focus on the message of “Living by Faith”.  So take a moment to breathe in the truth of the beauty of Christmas through her inspiring devotion and be sure to check out her generous giveaway of two of her inspiring devotional books at the end of her article.

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Now faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see. What is it that I hope for? What do you hope for? What promises have you been given? Are you believing for what is unseen?

Thanksgiving is over and we find ourselves entering the Christmas season. I love Christmas. I have always had a good imagination and Christmas is a time of wonder. A time when even as an adult we are allowed to revel in the sparkling snow, beautiful decorations, twinkling lights. It is all so magical. This year though I have really been struck with the realization that the true magic of Christmas isn’t in lights, trees or snow but in a hope seen.

A faith of generations realized. 

A promise fulfilled. 

The long-awaited Savior, Messiah, coming to a needy, hurting world to give us what we didn’t even know we needed – a right relationship with the living God and eternal life in paradise forever.

Does it get more joyous and magical than that?

How easy it is to brush over the Christmas story and not rest in the journey of kings following a star or a virgin teen saying yes to God. Have we heard too many times the account of angels appearing to shepherds and a young carpenter sacrificing his pride to take care of the Son of God? I think of the cast of characters that God picked to be a part of his great plan, a plan that had been in the works and unfolding since the Garden and I wonder if, like me, as they followed God by faith, did they have a sense of wonder and fear, pain and joy, heart ache and peace?

Living life by faith for God’s glory. Living being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we can’t see isn’t easy. In reality it is very difficult. Look at Abraham, the father of the nation of Israel. The man who God called out to build a nation that would bring the Savior. By faith he left all he had, by faith he believed he would have a son when his body and his wife’s womb were as good as dead. By faith he believed he would have an inheritance he never saw. By faith.

What is God asking you to do by faith this Christmas season? In what way is he asking you to live for the promise, for what you can’t see? When Isaac was born to 100-year-old Abraham and 90-year-old Sarah they couldn’t take any credit. Neither could Mary claim Jesus as her own. The Kings didn’t manufacture the star that they followed and the shepherds couldn’t explain a heavenly host by any other way except God.

When we live by faith we see God.

When we live by faith we see his glory.

When we live by faith he receives all the attention and we are left in wonder and awe.

God is the God of the impossible. In our world of fairy tales, Santa Claus and Miracle on 34th Street we can miss the real magic of the season. The God of the universe making a way to save us. So that he can have a personal relationship with each of us, when we choose to believe by faith.

Shining Light for His Glory,

Stephanie Page

Stephanie Page is a wife to one very supportive man and mom to two beautiful girls (with #3 on the way). She spends her time speaking to high school students and women, leading bible study, putting on conferences and working alongside her husband Chris in 5th & 6th grade ministry. Her favorite things are hanging out with Chris and snuggling with her girls at their home in Brooklyn Center, Minnesota. You can find her blogging at www.stephaniempage.com as well as Facebook & Twitter.

Stephanie has graciously offered to giveaway two of her inspiring devotional books to ONE of our Unwrapping His Grace readers!

It Started With A Blog began as 30 blog posts about what God had taught Stephanie through her daily experiences. These posts have been rewritten to now make up this 30 day devotion book. Where God has taken these simple lessons is a testimony of his power and plan for his children. As you go through It Started With A Blog you too will be challenged to live a life of faith for the glory of God.

AND

Have intentional time as a family throughout the month of December as you turn your focus to what Christmas is truly about. In Preparing for Christmas Stephanie takes you and your family through 25 daily scriptures, prayers, discussion points and prompts for you to share how God is personal to you with each other. Targeted for families with children ages 3-12 this tool can be adapted for your needs and your family.

Entering is SO simple!!! Here’s how…

One entry… Comment on this article

One entry… “Like” the Stephanie Page–Speaker Facebook Page and leave a comment here letting me know that you did it.

It is that simple!!!

The winner will have the blessing of choosing between an e-book version of both books or paper back versions!  The Giveaway will close Wednesday, November 28, 2012 at 8:00PM CST.  One name will be drawn out of a hat by my four-year old son. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, November 28, 2012 at 10:00PM CST.

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