185: Peace for the Weary Heart (Advent Series #4) with Rebekah Hargraves (Solo Episode #38)

This week we are bringing to a close our solo podcast series based on my book, “Good News for a Woman’s Heart: An Advent Devotional Study”, with our final podcast episode of 2022. Today we are focusing on week 4 of the study, which centers on remembering the peace we can have in Christ for our weary hearts.

What I Chat about in Today’s Episode:

~The fact that it is no accident that this very week – when the enemy most tries to steal our peace – is the very week of peace in the Advent tradition

~Where peace ultimately comes from

~Peace…in the face of lies

~How the enemy is lying to us, making us think that the magic of Christmas depends on us

~Taking these thoughts captive to the truth of the implications of the Incarnation and the good news of the gospel

~Peace…in the face of trouble

~The trouble we have in this world, and how we can have peace no matter what our circumstances

~Where trouble comes from (hint: it isn’t God)

~Why free will is so crucial

~Why the Lord placed that infamous tree in the garden

~Peace…for the brokenhearted

~How you can have peace even in the midst of loss, trial, heartache, and unmet dreams and expectations

~How it’s possible that we are actually blessed when we mourn and are poor in spirit; how I have experienced this beautiful reality myself

~What we see in Scripture about the beauty that can come in and through brokenness

~Peace…in the face of loss

~The goodness of the Lord and the truth that all He does is ultimately good

~Peace…for the celebration

~The freedom we have to joyfully and wholeheartedly celebrate our blessings…even when life is hard for someone else; understanding that empathy, sensitivity, and care for them and celebration for us can go hand-in-hand

~How our Heavenly Father delights when we delight in our good gifts from Him

~What Christmas means for us today and every day; taking the truths and implications of Christmas with you on into the new year

~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:

“While Satan will likely be working overtime in these next days in an effort to bring you down, the Lord wants to lift you up.”

“While Satan wants us to focus on our idolized to-do lists, the Lord wants us to focus on Him. While Satan wants us to work so hard that we lose our joy and begin to lash out at those closest to us, the Lord wants us to focus on the good news and the reality of what we are celebrating this season: the reality that we are made truly free from striving through the implications of the Incarnation and what Christ came to do for us.”

“All the typical ways we celebrate and commemorate Christmas – the trees and garland, cookies and gingerbread houses, parties and gifts – they are all beautiful, worthwhile things to put your time and attention to. But only if they are not stealing the show and only if they are not taking your eyes of the true Reason for the season. Our God is a God of celebration, joy, feasting, and commemoration, so He would have no problem with our desire to make this season fun and festive.”

“Everything does not depend on you. You don’t have to perform and accomplish and impress and bring the magic this Christmas. You can take those thoughts captive and remember that it isn’t about what you accomplish, but what Christ already accomplished on your behalf.”

“Peace can be yours no matter what you are going through. The peace of God is unlike anything this world has to offer and is not contingent on what kind of season you are going through. It is there for us no matter what – if we allow it to be.”

“There is a freedom and peace to be found when, as it was for Mary, our theology is so robust, our love for and trust in Christ so deep, and our faith in Him so profoundly unwavering that we are able to look heartbreak in the face and willingly endure it because we know God is greater, His plan better, and His love for us more infinite than anything we could ever dare hope for or imagine.”

“Rest in His love today, friend, knowing that His peace is for you even as you wonder how you could ever feel peace on a day like today. It’s there, I promise. Reach out and take it.”

“Whether you are grieving the loss of a beloved family Christmas tradition or the loss of a loved one, your God enters into your pain and spends time with you in it.”

“Allow the ‘Christmas story’ to, perhaps for the very first time, be used to change your entire outlook on your life and the lives of those around you. And may the peace, glory, beauty, joy, and celebration of Christmas be yours every day of this new year ahead.”

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.
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