Author: Emily Chase

    Advent is traditionally a time for fasting and restraint, but in our world, with all the Christmas treats around during this season, it is easy to add on pounds. Those candies and cookies magically turn into fat all on their own. Without any effort on my part, my body automatically processes the carbohydrates …

  Mary experienced powerful emotions during her personal Advent, waiting for the birth of her son Jesus.  Those emotions ebbed and flowed, not necessarily following any logical order but weaving back and forth to create a beautiful fabric of their own.   In my job with Bethany Christian Services, I work with birthmoms who are …

  Welcome once again to this journey back to the very first Advent season, the nine months of Mary’s pregnancy. One of my co-workers is completing her fourth month of pregnancy. I recently asked if she had felt the baby kick yet. Since this is her first pregnancy, she wasn’t sure what that felt like …

  My grandson had his Christmas program for preschool last night.  He practiced his songs and danced around the living room for days, flailing his arms as he whirled hither and yon.  It took four adults to keep an eye on this ball of energy. After the program, he came home and collapsed in bed …

Our time of Advent is almost half over already. How far along was Mary now in her pregnancy? It too was almost half over. The angel Gabriel told Mary that her relative Elizabeth was already in her sixth month when he first appeared to Mary. Assuming that Mary spent a few weeks preparing for the …

    Advent is a time for hope.  I trust these devotionals about events that happened two thousand years ago in the past are helping you look forward to Christ’s future return. When Mary headed to Judea to see Elizabeth, Zechariah was also in the home. As a priest, Zechariah was familiar with the Law, …

  Advent is a time of anticipation. I hope you look forward to these devotional thoughts each day.   Our 3-year-old grandson in Texas has been anticipating a visit from his grandparents. For days, our son has told Simeon, “Gramma and Grampa are coming!” Tim helped Simeon make a paper chain to count the days …

Neil Armstrong walked on the moon.  It was a once in a lifetime event, something for which he became world famous and has long been remembered. Few of us are destined for such fame.  We are not going to be known all over the world like Neil Armstrong.  We will lead routine lives of faithfulness …

Advent reminds us that we need to prepare our hearts for Christmas.  I hope these daily devotionals are helping you understand a small portion of what Mary must have experienced as she carried the Christ child within her womb.   When Mary told Joseph that she was pregnant, he planned to divorce her. Mary felt …

You’re back! Thank you for returning to my blog for another Advent devotional. And if you are new, all the earlier devotionals are listed below.   When I worked with single moms at a pregnancy center, there was one word that described every one of them: Busy! Teen moms were trying to balance keeping up …