Author: Emily Chase

It may sound strange, but I often feel a certain letdown when we draw near to the end of Advent. These devotionals give a special focus to my days. I “HOPE” you feel the same way. Yet, we can’t forget that the climax of this season still lies ahead! Some years ago, I was at …

Can you feel the excitement in the air? Christmas is drawing near. Thanks for continuing to read these brief Advent thoughts on HOPE. Most of us look forward to a feast at Christmas. This year, due to COVID, things will be different from other times in the past. Some relatives have moved on, to celebrate …

Today is the shortest day of the year, so let’s not waste time. Here is a new twist on HOPE. For her husband and three teenage boys, my daughter Prisca made 13 pounds of cranberry relish the week before Thanksgiving. By the time the holiday rolled around, only 2 pounds were left, a quantity she …

Thank you for staying with me throughout this Advent series on HOPE. This time, we will find yet another result of our hope in Christ. I mentioned a friend of mine who is recovering from COVID. She hasn’t had energy to do any holiday shopping. Like others who have contracted this awful virus, she is …

Have you finished your shopping? Wrapped your gifts? Mailed them off? No? Feeling tense? Take a few moments here to sit down with a hot cup of cocoa and read another Advent devotional on HOPE. After months of sheltering in place, many people living alone are experiencing forms of stress and depression, and not just …

Yesterday, I shared some ways God protected my husband’s life, and I asked you to think about times when the Lord protected you. Now it is my turn. When I was in Mexico I took part in a five-month jungle training course. I hoped God would help me survive the rigors of the program! One …

Only one more week of Advent! Thanks for staying with me as we study the theme of HOPE. A year ago, my husband Gene stayed with three of our grandsons for several days while their mother and father were away on a trip. Each day, Gene hoped to have a brief devotional time with the …

Take a seat and let’s continue our trip through Advent. We still have more rewards of HOPE to discover! My son John delights in his children. He tosses little Lydia in the air and she whoops with excitement. When he builds complex Rube Goldberg-type ramps with Ruthie and Heidi, their eyes glow with pleasure as …

Returning to learn another reward of HOPE? Read on! When I was a child, our family had a summer home by a lake in New England. Violent electrical storms would sometimes whip up waves on the lake and strike trees along the shore. On those evenings, my parents would turn on our kerosene lamps and …

Glad you have returned for today’s Advent devotional. Are you ready for another gift that comes along with HOPE? A person who has forgiveness for their past and hope for the future also enjoys confidence to face whatever lies before them today. Many places, where older translations of the Bible used the word ‘hope,’ the …