Goodness sakes…the last blog post of the year!
To hope is to wait with your heart intertwined, knotted up, tied to God Himself.
Ann Voskamp
To be a people of hope is to let go of hoping in all the things of this world, and have all your hope, all your heart, all your aching, waiting expectations, bound to Jesus.
Things worth remembering…
- Building a book tree with a sister
- Studying Malachi
- Seeing Sidewalk Prophets in concert at last!!
- The drive home with sad songs and 40 ounces of Nighty Night Extra
- Chik-fil-a, Barnes & Noble, and the guitar shop
- Christmas lights!!
- Finishing my short story and getting it out to my newsletter gang
- Honest, tearful conversations
- My sisters’ Christmas program
- Hot cocoa and gift wrapping
- Savoring the white Christmas while it lasted
- Singing in five-part harmony around the bonfire
- Walks on soggy gravel roads when the snow melted
- Jigging with the youngest sisters
- A misty moisty morning
- Several outrageous rounds of Who What When Where Why
That was hope. Not a violent jolt or reawakening,
Hannah Hodgson
But the constancy of living as though each moment was worth it,
Rising up under pain because by the power of the living God it will not end us –
It will not end us; it will not end here.
What I’ve been reading…
The Boys in the Boat – Daniel James Brown
It’s taking me awhile to finish this one, but it’s brilliantly written! I’m just easing into non-fiction again. XD
The Greatest Gift – Ann Voskamp
I didn’t end up reading this one all the way through like I did last year, as I was reading another Advent book (see below).
Advent: a collection – Hannah Hodgson
If only Hannah’s books were available for purchase all the time…her poetry blesses me so much and I want to share it with the world. If you want to catch a glimpse of her poetry, though, go follow her on Instagram!
A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens
Oh, goodness, this book brought me so much joy!
A Thousand Mornings – Mary Oliver
I so wish Mary Oliver had had a better grasp of theology, because if that had been the case this collection would be absolutely flawless. The beauty of her thoughts and way of expressing them is so natural. I adore her poetic style.
A prison cell, in which one waits, hopes…and is completely dependent on the fact that the door of freedom has to be opened from the outside, is not a bad picture of Advent.
dietrich bonhoeffer
From the journal…
Oh, Father, help me to catch a vision for something greater than my own life story!
You’re never late, I know.
You have never skimped a single one of your children, Father, and I pray that I would know that deeply, even if Your richness and generosity meet me in this same position of life next year.
Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.
Luke 10:21
What are you tucking into your book of memories from this December?
Stay the course!
Laurel
P.S. My short story, Grace Werner’s Perfectly Imperfect Christmas, is available to you for FREE when you sign up for my weekly newsletter! You can do that here. ❤
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase something through one of the links I share in this post, I receive a small commission…at no extra cost to you.:)
Laurel Luehmann 
Oh, I adore that Ann Voskamp quote. And that last bit from the journal… 🥹 I’ve been pondering the waiting and the timing of God lately. Glad to know I’m not alone. Loved this update, Laurel! ❤
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Oh, I’m so glad, Brittney! And yes, friend…you are not alone!🫶🏼May God reset the clocks of our hearts to match His in all things.✨
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