<\/p>\n
<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cbut the angel reassured them. \u2018Don\u2019t be afraid!\u2019 he said. \u2018I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.<\/em> The Savior\u2014yes, the Messiah, the Lord\u2014has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!\u2019\u201d\u00a0 (Luke 2:10-11, NLT)<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Christmas is drawing near.\u00a0 There\u2019s lights to see, shopping to do, mountains of sweets to conquer.\u00a0 Then, there are greetings to send and the office party to go to and cookies to bake\u2014oh, my.\u00a0 It\u2019s the best time of the year, right?\u00a0 Not for everyone.<\/p>\n Growing up, I loved the feeling of the holiday and the excitement of it all.\u00a0 My parents always made sure that Christmas was special with the presents, decorations, and all the yummy goodies to eat.\u00a0 I loved the anticipation of wondering what was in the wrapped gifts under the tree.<\/p>\n So, I was always dumbfounded when people said how they dreaded Christmas coming again\u2014even hated it.\u00a0 How could anyone be downhearted during this holiday with so much fun tradition surrounding it?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n I get it now.\u00a0 As an adult, I understand why this is not the best time of year for all people.\u00a0 Many struggle with handling all the good tidings they see others immersed in.\u00a0 They may not feel happy at all\u2014in fact, they may be trying to just make it through while in a haze of depression.\u00a0 They don\u2019t want to deck the halls, and there is no joy in their world at the moment.\u00a0 All the twinkling lights may only magnify the darkness they feel.<\/p>\n What about the wife facing the first Christmas without her husband?\u00a0 Or, the man who has been looking for work for months and is struggling to provide for his family?\u00a0 Loss and troubles are a part of living throughout the year, but Christmas time can intensify emotions and deepen sorrows.<\/p>\n The Lord knows your heart.\u00a0 Whatever your story was before and whatever it is now\u2014God\u2019s act of sending His Son, Jesus, to us as a baby trumps all.\u00a0 Because of His life here on this earth, we can live in victory no matter what we face.\u00a0 We can be assured if He loved us enough to leave all the glory of heaven to come as a vulnerable baby, He surely will be by our side even when things get tough.\u00a0 We can agree with what the angels told the shepherds that night\u2014it truly is good news.<\/p>\n So, remember those you know who are dealing with some difficulties this year.\u00a0 Reach out to them, if you can.\u00a0 Visit someone who is lonely or perhaps take a meal to a needy family. Let them know there is hope and that someone cares.\u00a0 \u201cPure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.\u201d (James 1:17, NAS)<\/em> Or, if you are personally struggling this Christmas, take heart and try to focus on the ultimate gift that God gave over 2000 years ago.\u00a0 He loves you so much and wants to fill you with His peace and joy!<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In His Name, Tammy<\/p>\n \u00a92012 Tammy Maseberg All Rights Reserved<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n *Please check out my fictional account, \u201cMy Christmas Story \u2013 the Miracle of a Baby\u201d under the Fictional Stories<\/strong> tab on the left side of the home page of this web site.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cbut the angel reassured them. \u2018Don\u2019t be afraid!\u2019 he said. \u2018I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior\u2014yes, the Messiah, the Lord\u2014has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!\u2019\u201d\u00a0 (Luke 2:10-11, NLT) \u00a0 Christmas is drawing near.\u00a0 There\u2019s lights to see, shopping to do, mountains of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[27],"class_list":["post-107","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-a-word-from-tammy-maseberg","tag-christmas","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=107"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=107"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=107"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inhisstepsministry.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=107"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}