Encourage-[en-kur-ij] to inspire with courage, spirit, or confidence.
The enCourage Blog is weekly dose of encouragement in a world that is often filled with bad news. We offer life-giving entries each Monday and Thursday written by gifted women from across our denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). You can subscribe below to have them delivered to your inbox. With hundreds of blog pieces, you can search on a variety of topics in the search bar above to read and share with friends. Christina Fox, a gifted author, serves as our enCourage General Editor. If you are interested in submitting a piece, you can contact her at cfox@pcanet.org.
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Celebrating Christmas with Hope
BETHANY BELUE | CONTRIBUTOR Christmas is my favorite season with children, with all the lights, decorated yards, Christmas festivities, and the awe they experience as they soak in each fun holiday activity. It’s a sweet time of joy and celebration and I make every effort to enjoy each moment with them and let go of my stress and anxiety that sits just below the surface. That’s because, in the midst of all the celebrations and joy, the hard parts of this life still exist. In my community, there are broken relationships, marriage hardships, the first Christmas without a parent, another Christmas with empty arms, and the longing to celebrate this holiday with a spouse. The pain I see all around me is real and deep, and yet Christmas is coming. All those sorrows will not disappear in the middle of feasts and festivities. I often wonder what it looks like to hold both joy and sorrow as we approach this special holiday. During a recent conversation with a friend, I was reminded of something Tim Keller said while I sat under his teaching, “Christmas means that you will never be alone.” I remember that season of life when I heard those words and how they filled my heart with peace. No matter what my life may look like, no matter what sorrows I’m sitting in, or unmet desires I’m waiting for, I am not alone. Jesus was born so that I may never be alone...
Though and Yet
PATRICIA CURTISS | GUEST I’m a Florida native and have lived here most of my life. Recently our state—along with several others—was slammed by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. It has been devastating and burdensome for family and friends. Over the past several weeks, I’ve been reading through the Bible’s minor prophets. It has struck me how some of the literal events described, or the imagery used, refer to such devastations: “…the sea grew even wilder than before…” Jonah 1:13 “…The mountains melt beneath him and the valleys split apart like wax before the fire, like water rushing down a slope…” Micah 1:4 “…His way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. He rebukes the sea and dries it up; he makes all the rivers run dry…The mountains quake before him and the hills melt away. The earth trembles at his presence, the world and all who live in it…” Nahum 1:3b-5 And then, there’s the last stanza in Habakkuk. Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields produce no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength, he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places. Habakkuk 3:17-19 Habakkuk’s Walk Writing is a challenge. When writing, you’re trying to communicate your thoughts to someone without using your voice’s tonal inflections, facial expressions, or body language to assist in meaning. What is written must fully carry the message. It’s even more problematic when writing poetry where every word’s letter, every word’s sound, and every mark of punctuation is crucial in translating the poet’s meaning. The Book of Habakkuk reflects the language of psalms (Hebrew poetry) in the expression of his complaints, reflections on God’s character, and response of obedience. He was really steamed that the kingdom of Judah had turned away from faith in God under the rule of two wicked kings, Manasseh and Amon. Habakkuk understood God needed to punish Judah for its sinful rebellion. He just didn’t understand why a good and just God would choose to use a more wicked nation (the Chaldeans, 1:8) to do the punishing—they deserved punishment, too. After Habakkuk goes through a question/answer period with God, he responds by trusting and rejoicing. His example encourages us to do the same when faced with debilitating circumstances....
The Way Prepared
SHARON ROCKWELL | CONTRIBUTOR In California, we are constantly admonished to prepare for earthquakes. They can happen at any time, and the threat hangs over our heads. The “big one” can happen tomorrow, or a thousand years from now. Most of us don’t take the preparation warnings as seriously as we should – like collecting flashlights, medications, and water and food for several days use (plus a can opener!). Those who live in California know the feeling of unexpectedly having the ground shake beneath their feet. We immediately turn on the TV to check for the epicenter. We text our loved ones to see if they are safe. We survey our house for damage. And likely regret not preparing despite all the warnings to do so. The Call to Prepare Seven hundred years before the coming of Christ, the prophet Isaiah records a call for preparedness, for deliverance of the Jewish people and the redemption of mankind by Christ. He warned God’s people to prepare themselves by making their ways straight, that is by repenting of evil inclinations and believing in the promised Messiah to come. “A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Is. 40:3-5)...
Come All the Not So Faithful
MARYBETH MCGEE | GUEST I wept quietly, hoping no one would notice, as I sat among our church family at the annual Christmas concert. I had never heard the song before, but the first line was like a sucker punch after many years of trials. This is the time of year when the old familiar songs begin to echo through the air and you hear the call “O come, all ye faithful, joyful, and triumphant.” But what if you are entering this Advent season feeling more like the lyrics of a not as well-known Christmas song by Sovereign Grace Music, O Come, All You Unfaithful? “O come, all you unfaithful Come, weak and unstable Come, know you are not alone O come, barren and waiting ones Weary of praying, come” [1] I had experienced much of what those lyrics described. I felt unfaithful, weak, and unstable. Especially after nearly a decade of infertility genetic testing confirmed that God had knit a forever barren womb into my DNA. I was also weary of praying for a foster care placement that would result in adoption. This was followed by more waiting, only to then become even more weary of praying for an answer that would solve the many challenges that come with raising children with ever increasing special needs. Trials of so many kinds had washed over the bow of our family’s little boat of life, like waves on an unpredictable sea. And yet, James had the audacity to tell us that our trials should be counted as joy? “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” (James 1:2-4)...