179: Finding Hope in Christ (Advent Series #1) with Rebekah Hargraves (Solo Episode #35)

This week we are kicking off a brand new solo podcast series, this one based on a book I wrote a few years back entitled “Good News for a Woman’s Heart: An Advent Devotional Study”. Today we are focusing on the introduction and week 1 of the study, which centers on the hope we have in Christ as seen through a study on the life stories of the five women found in the geneaology of Christ.

What I Chat about in Today’s Episode:

~What to expect from this book and podcast study

~The stress and overwhelm we oftentimes feel this time of year

~The true reason for the season

~What Advent is

~The theme of week one of Advent, hope

~The genealogy of Christ and the life stories of the 5 women we find listed there; what we can learn from their stories

~How we can have hope in the midst of terrible circumstances just as these 5 women of the Bible did

~Truth and encouragement to take with you into the holiday season ahead

~And more!

Resources Mentioned

Offer for a free audiobook and 30 day trial membership from Audible: www.audibletrial.com/HomeandHearth

Previous Solo Podcast Episodes

“Good News for a Woman’s Heart: An Advent Devotional Study”.

My free Advent Study on the YouVersion Bible App

QUOTES TO REMEMBER:

“Christmas is not about how great you are at turning your home into a winter wonderland or whether or not you can bake six dozen cookies for the Christmas party or if you make it through each and every day of the Advent calendar you bought to go through with your kids. It isn’t about what you accomplish at all. It is about what Christ accomplished through His Incarnation.”

“Over the next four weeks of Advent study, our mission, our goal is to cultivate a Christ-focused Christmas and a deepening of our understanding as to the importance of His first Advent, His first coming, and its implications for our day-to-day lives.”

“Don’t fix your eyes on your problems and your (perhaps many!) reasons to be lacking in hope this season. Instead, fix your eyes on Christ, the Author and Finisher of your faith – the One who knows the end from the beginning and brings good out of it all.”

“Tamar’s story was one of hopelessness, trial, disappointment, broken promises, and betrayal. In the midst of it all, however, God was still at work. A baby was born to Tamar – a baby who would be in the very lineage of Christ, the coming Messiah, just as Tamar herself would be.”

“Throughout the Word we are introduced to a number of women who found themselves in hard, challenging, and seemingly hopeless situations. Women who, though things looked bleak for a time, were loved, redeemed, and blessed by God with a life-changing hope and left with an amazing testimony. This is certainly true of Rahab, the second woman we find mentioned in the genealogy of Christ.”

“Though Rahab knew no hope when this ordeal first began, she walked away from it with much hope. It was a hope that did not disappoint, for it was hope in the living God of Israel Himself.”

“It doesn’t matter how other people view you or what they have grown to expect from you or what you may think is your worth. What matters is how the God of the universe views you and what He has to say about you. That is all that matters.”

“The God of Ruth is your God. He is the same unchanging God yesterday, today, and forever. He is still in the business of changing lives for the better. He is still in the business of being our Jehovah Jireh, our God Who provides. He is still in the business of working miracles. He is still in the business of bringing people into our lives when we need them most. But above all and most importantly, He is in the business of meeting all our needs in Himself.”

“How does Bathsheba’s heartbreaking story speak to us today when we feel as if hope is hard to be found in our own lives? Well, we are reminded that even if man mistreats us, even if we feel unloved, hurt, and betrayed, we always have the Lord to lean on. His love is sure, His compassion and grace unending, and His acceptance and approval eternal when we are covered in the blood of His Son.”

WHERE YOU CAN FIND REBEKAH ONLINE:

Websites – Hargraves Home and Hearth

Instagram –@rebekahhargraves

Facebook – Hargraves Home and Hearth

Twitter – @hhomeandhearth

Podcast – Home and Hearth Podcast

To Leave a Rating and Review on iTunes Have you been encouraged or inspired by today’s episode? If so, could I ask a little favor? If you could leave the podcast a rating and review in iTunes, that would be amazing! The more ratings and reviews a podcast receives, the more iTunes shows that podcast to other folks searching for shows to listen to, so by leaving me a rating and review, you truly are partnering with me in this podcast ministry to encourage and help as many women as we possibly can. Thank you so much for taking the time to do that! Here’s how: If you’re on your computer:

Access iTunes on your desktop and type Home and Hearth in the search box on the upper right hand corner.
Click on the podcast photo when it comes up
Click on “Ratings and Reviews” beneath the podcast title
Under “Customer Reviews”, click on “Write a Review”
Click on how many stars you want to rate the podcast and then write out your review and click submit
You’re done! Thank you so much!!

If you’re on your phone:

Open the podcasts app
Click the search button on the bottom righthand corner (the magnifying glass) and type in Home and Hearth in the search box that will appear at the top of your screen
Click on the podcast photo when it pops up
Click on the reviews button near the top middle of the screen
Scroll down a bit, if needed, until you see “Write a Review” and click on that
Click on how many starts your want to rate the podcast, write out your review, and click “send” when finished
You’re done! Thank you so much!!