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Singing Through Christmas in Minor and Major Keys

JOANNA HODGES|GUEST ‘Tis the season of bright and glimmering baubles, loud and busy parties, and exuberant and merry music. As we prepare for Christmas, we eagerly anticipate singing our favorite festive songs around the piano. Through well-known happy tunes in a major key, we proclaim “Joy to the World” because Christ came to crush the head of the serpent. We gather our friends to sing “O Come All Ye Faithful” and can’t wait to hear our kids shout “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” in the church program. Yet the more holidays God gives us in this broken world, the more we realize that every Christmas season rightfully includes not only the triumphal tone of major keys, but also the wistful waiting and somber tone of the carols in a minor key. A Partial Celebration Even though the Savior accomplished His earthly mission and sits at the Father’s right hand to reign in victory, those nagging foes of the world, the flesh, and the devil still assault us here on earth. They don’t take a vacation during Christmas, and often it seems they rear their ugly heads even more intensely this time of year. Our hearts may be filled with awe and wonder as we read our Advent devotional in the morning, yet by the afternoon we are overwhelmed by the Christmas day menu, family dynamics around the holiday table, and the jam-packed calendar of parties. We scroll through Facebook’s Time Hop pictures of past Christmas gatherings and realize how much our own bodies and those of our loved ones have been marred by disease, dysfunction, and death over the years. Sometimes it’s not easy to take a deep breath and sing “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” with smiles on our faces when the sadness of a sin-cursed existence makes us want to silence our voices and quietly mourn....

Singing Through Christmas in Minor and Major Keys2025-11-28T15:39:14+00:00

Our Joy is Not in the Trials, but in Him

MARYBETH MCGEE | GUEST Recently, my own words echoed in my head: “Our joy is not found in the trials, but in Him.” Those words—from an article I wrote here last Advent—were suddenly tested in a trial unlike any we weathered before. On May 22, 2025, our home erupted in chaos on the first morning of summer break. My middle son and I discovered that my oldest son had passed away—unexpectedly, quietly, without any warning. At just fourteen, he was gone, and there was nothing we could do. Years of waiting and praying for this child—and his brothers—felt ripped away in an instant. Powerless. Crushed. Broken. Even as I spoke with emergency services, I felt the battle for my soul begin. Shock, fear, anger, and a grief beyond words swirled inside me as I heard the familiar whisper echo from Genesis 3: “Did God really say?” Peter’s words became more real than ever—there truly is an enemy who prowls like a lion, seeking to devour (1 Peter 5:8). I knew this would be a test of my faith. Our family was being called to the front lines of spiritual warfare, and we needed reinforcements. My second call, just minutes later, was to my pastor. Like any good shepherd, he rushed to our home and stepped straight into the chaos. My husband was an hour away at work; our house filled with firefighters, paramedics, and sheriffs—faces my children had rarely seen outside of children’s shows, let alone in our front yard. Over the next several days and weeks, our home was a constant flow of people, tears, laughter, joy, and deep mourning. The circumstances were devastating, but something different was happening. Trials, both great and small, tend to stir up thoughts about gratitude—or the lack thereof. We can’t talk about gratitude without acknowledging the tension between our expectations and our circumstances. If anyone ever had an excuse to skip gratitude during a trial, the loss of a child would seem like a good one. But do we really get a pass because life feels unbearable? As you might guess, my answer is no...

Our Joy is Not in the Trials, but in Him2025-11-22T18:37:42+00:00

Discipling Children in Suffering

AMY SANTARELLI |GUEST When my children were young, my husband and I worked hard to prepare them for life. We taught them skills they needed such as tying their shoes, doing laundry, driving, and choosing a career. We also taught them Bible stories, character lessons, and how to obey. But how to suffer? Mostly, we tried to help them avoid it. Now I am a biblical counselor who sits with people who are enduring a wide range of suffering. Seeing their struggles, I find myself looking back at this aspect of our child rearing and wishing I could have a parenting do-over. In our efforts to raise our children well and prepare them for life, we missed something important—purposefully preparing them for a world where the Bible says we will have trouble (John 16:33; James 1:2; I Pet. 4:12–13). How do we equip our children to biblically respond to life’s troubles, so they do not flounder, or worse, run away from God to false comforts? When trouble hits, practice lament and submission to God with your children....

Discipling Children in Suffering2025-07-11T15:04:24+00:00

Grief and Lament in Texas: Weeping with Hope

MARISSA BONDURANT | CONTRIBUTOR A cloud of collective grief hovers over Texas. For days after the flood, there was an actual dark cloud over all central Texas as the whole of creation groaned together in the pains of grief and longing (Rom. 8:22). A suppressive force of humidity mixed with shock and stirred with sorrow made it hard to breathe, sleep, or even make basic decisions. Although the headlines focus on the heartache in Texas, I know that this grief is seeping much farther from here. So many of the people who died were visiting from all over the country. Little girls at summer camp. Families camping under majestic cypress trees. Grandparents bunked up with grandchildren to make precious memories over the holiday. And now, thousands of people across the country grieve the loss of loved ones, co-workers, classmates, teammates, neighbors, and friends. Living in San Antonio, the Guadalupe River is considered our backyard play place. Everyone I know is only 1 or 2 degrees away from the devastation. My church alone had three girls at Camp Mystic the day the water rose. A dear friend of ours is on the ground doing recovery work. He’s got a military, warzone, ER doctor background, and he said he’s never seen anything like this. As of the writing this, they expect close to 300 image bearers to eventually be found in the debris. And in this deep, collective grief, we need the Church. We need you....

Grief and Lament in Texas: Weeping with Hope2025-07-11T19:04:12+00:00

The Stewardship of Suffering

AMY SHORE | GUEST Winter crept into my heart early this past year. Weariness gave way to selfish wallowing and introspection as I reflected on hard realities during the holiday season. December 31st, I found myself unable to breathe. A beautiful sand dollar, a Christmas gift from a friend, lay shattered on the kitchen floor. I fell to my knees in despair alongside this visual representation of my current brokenness. January 1st, a morning filled with missed calls and urgent messages: my dad had suffered a heart attack and was undergoing surgery. Then came January 21st when I faced the devastating reality of his death. I couldn’t catch my breath. The Learning Journey “Learning to live in the reality of His presence is the essence of our prayers and our pilgrimage.”[1] For the past year and a half, well before my father passed, I’ve been chewing on that quote from Susan Hunt around the journey to know God better amidst fear and frailty. I long to live more fully in that reality. You may have heard the saying, “God never gives us more than we can handle.” My pride wants this to be true because it means I can pull myself up by my own bootstraps. I’ve tried. My bootstraps snapped....

The Stewardship of Suffering2025-06-21T19:25:35+00:00

Entering into the Joy of Others

LISA UPDIKE | GUEST Ecclesiastes 3 tells us that there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven, a blessed ebb and flow of challenge and loss, peace and rest. Joy and sadness. Births and deaths. Serving and receiving. And though we intellectually understand that we will have trouble in life, it still can catch us off guard. When the time of trouble persists, we cry out like the psalmist did, “How long, Lord?” We wonder, “Does the Lord even see me?” If we are in a particularly long, hard season we may wonder why the Lord is richly blessing others and not us. Well, at least that’s what I do. My guess is that I am not alone.   For the past several years my life has been really hard, sometimes heartbreakingly so. Two of my children are going through some painful circumstances causing distance between us. My heart aches over our difficult relationship. In another sphere of life, my mother is aging and often in pain. She is lonely for my dad whom she lost five years ago to Alzheimer’s. It’s so painful to see her suffer, though she does so with grace. On top of these things, this past fall we were blindsided with grief when my husband’s youngest brother took his life. We had no warning. So. Much. Grief. And I hate to say it, but there is a lot more to this list. I’m telling you; my husband and I have been hurting. A lot. Still, we were hanging in there. We were growing and learning to cling to Jesus. But then there was just one more tragedy and it tipped the balance. It seemed more than we could bear. Was God actually kicking me when I was already down? I knew better, but at 4:30am when the phone rang, I knew it couldn’t be good news. My heart sank as I reached for the phone. The vet told me she was so sorry, but our dog had passed. You see, she had been rushed to the emergency vet the night before. We thought she was going to recover, but just like that, she was gone. My husband and I held each other and cried. This just seemed like too much. In our sadness, she had been such a comfort. Now she was gone. Hadn’t we had enough grief? Why this too?...

Entering into the Joy of Others2025-06-12T18:05:51+00:00

From Suffering to Strength: Gospel Ministry that Changes Everything

24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. 27 To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. 28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.29 For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me. (Col. 1:24-29) It’s easy to think gospel ministry is reserved for those on a stage or under a spotlight – pastors, missionaries, or the formally trained. But nothing could be further from the truth. Gospel ministry is life. Every believer is called to gospel ministry, wherever God has placed us. Whether you're raising children, serving in retirement, leading Bible study, or showing Christ’s love at your job, you are part of this glorious mission. Colossians 1:24–29 shows us just how glorious (and gritty) that calling can be. If the preeminence of Christ in creation, the Church, and in reconciliation sets the stage for Paul’s ministry (Col. 1:15-23), then Colossians 1:24–29 reveals how that truth transforms everything about the way he serves. For Christian women seeking to live faithfully in their homes, churches, workplaces, and communities, Paul’s example is both a challenge and a comfort. Rejoicing in the Burden: Paul’s Attitude in Ministry (v.24) Some might believe the hardships we face are a detriment to ministry. How can God possibly use me to further His kingdom if I struggle with depression, have a rebellious child, or battle anxiety every day? Paul knew suffering; beyond his thorn in the flesh (2 Cor. 12:7), his life was marked by hardship. Yet, he tells the Colossians he rejoices in his suffering for their sake. In other words, he considers his personal distress as a way of carrying on Christ’s work, and the challenges he faces can and will be used by God to spread the gospel. For that reason, he rejoices in his suffering.  We have a choice when faced with hardship. We can either become bitter and pull away from the service God has called us to, or we can choose joy—a settled satisfaction in Christ and in His provisions—and be open to how God might use us amid our hardship or perhaps even because of it. Don’t wait until life feels “together” to serve. God uses us right in the middle of the mess  to point others to Jesus...

From Suffering to Strength: Gospel Ministry that Changes Everything2025-06-12T17:46:48+00:00

Life After Cancer

MARISSA HENLEY|GUEST Editor's Note: Below is an excerpt from Marissa's newly published devotional, After Cancer: Thriving with Hope (P&R, 2025), used with permission. Filled with both dread and hope, I forced a deep breath through my anxiety-stricken lungs and stepped into the counselor’s office. Almost two years had passed since I had been diagnosed with a rare cancer called angiosarcoma. The chemotherapy, clinical trial, radiation, and surgery had ended about a year prior, and my scans showed no evidence of disease. Some days, I was thrilled to be alive. I felt happy, grateful, and free. Other days, I felt like cancer still had me in its suffocating grip. The new perspective that made me grateful for each day also made me greedy for years I wasn’t sure I’d get to enjoy. Cancer had been purged from my body, but it wouldn’t leave my mind. I was tired of feeling consumed by cancer. A few minutes later, I sat on the counselor’s sofa, telling my story through tears. I started with the facts: The lump in my breast. The phone call two weeks later. The internet search that revealed a grim prognosis. The oncologist at MD Anderson Cancer Center who looked me in the eyes and said, “I can cure you.” The months of chemotherapy. The clinical trial that took me away from my three young children for weeks and weeks as I received treatment in Houston, six hundred miles from home. Radiation and surgery, also in Houston. God’s faithfulness and provision through dark days of suffering, sickness, and fear. But my story was more than those facts. Fear, grief, and trauma interwove through those details, but I often buried my emotions as I shared the happy ending of my story. I talked freely about the when, where, and how, but I didn’t think people would want to hear the questions I wrestled with daily: Why? What now? I often separated the facts from my feelings when I told the story, but in the safety of the counselor’s office, my emotional turmoil rose to the surface and overflowed...

Life After Cancer2025-05-24T16:33:49+00:00

Content in Suffering

KC JONES|GUEST My children and I were recently reading the children’s classic story, Pollyanna, when I was struck by the many themes and motifs that run parallel to Scripture. I finished the tale with an epiphany I had never considered before. The story of Pollyanna revolves around a little girl who beams with joy and wholesome goodness. After she is orphaned initially by her mother and then by her father’s passing, Pollyanna moves in with her Aunt Polly who lives by a strict code of legalism which she refers to as “her duty.” Life is as you would imagine it would be for a young child moving in with a spinster who has never dreamed of, let alone entertained precocious, young children she has been tasked to raise alone. Holding on to Joy Pollyanna sets about revolutionizing the small town of Beldingsville by spreading the innate joy she feels with each individual. It is not long before it becomes evident how she impacts each resident, one at a time. Pollyanna’s secret is a little game her father taught her to play called the “glad game,” a personal challenge to come up with something she is thankful for despite the hardship she feels, no matter how small or insignificant. As Pollyanna lives out this model, members of the community, who at first had remained reticent, begin to grow curious, then find themselves playing the game as well. A measure of grace soon pervades the residents who were once broken and embittered by the trials of life—which end up being the very catalysts for moving them to a deeper place of joy. Pollyanna’s genuine good nature compared with the resident’s hardened hearts, reminds me of the Apostle Paul who knew firsthand what it meant to remain content during suffering. Consider what Paul tells the Corinthians regarding suffering, “For this light and momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Cor. 4:17-18). Paul not only understood the depths of human misery, but also maintained joy through such suffering because he knew God was using it to strengthen his faith. Like Paul, Pollyanna tenaciously holds onto joy despite the various difficulties she faces, both large and small. She refuses to lose the game...

Content in Suffering2025-04-12T18:13:08+00:00

God’s Faithfulness in a Winter Season: The Gift of Weakness

MARISSA HENLEY|GUEST “I hear, and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters into my bones; my legs tremble beneath me. Yet I will quietly wait for the day of trouble to come upon people who invade us.” (Habakkuk 3:16) When I battled a rare cancer in 2010-2011, the effect of the chemotherapy on my platelets caused me to need a clinical trial and receive treatment hundreds of miles away from my home and my young family. I was suffering in a way that I never had before, and I was completely powerless to change my circumstances. A friend of mine read about a study in Greece that found that eating purple grapes would boost your platelets. It was on the internet, so it was probably true, right? I started eating large amounts purple grapes. You can probably guess how much impact it had on my platelets. That’s right—none at all. It was one more reminder of my weakness. I was suffering, everyone I loved was suffering along with me, and there was nothing I could do but sit in a beige recliner, passively receive the chemotherapy that made me feel awful, and beg God to heal me. When we’re in a winter season of suffering, we often feel weak and powerless to fix our circumstances. If we could change things and get ourselves out of that season, we certainly would. This feeling of weakness is an unavoidable part of our experience of suffering...

God’s Faithfulness in a Winter Season: The Gift of Weakness2025-04-12T18:21:40+00:00
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