Dec 12, 2019
On today’s episode you get to hear two friends, who have done a whole lot of life together, sit down over coffee and talk about a whole lot of things, but particularly about what peace is and what it is not. My friend Alice Sally is a working Momma to three kiddos, and one of them has Down Syndrome. Alice shares with us about what her and husband, Eddie’s, journey into being a Special Needs family has looked like, as well as her journey of working through debilitating anxiety, healing from trauma, and how she can walk, sometimes limp, through all of that but still experience peace. If you hang with us to the end, we even dip into the murky waters of merging Santa and Christmas and Christianity.
Peace is not something we can muster up on our own, it is a gift of the Spirit, but it does not mean we never feel. You can walk through incredibly long and hard seasons, and still experience peace. However, if Jesus is the Prince of Peace and this wild story of being born in a barn is how He is born, then the peace He brings is not going to be the peace we expect.
Resources:
-Hallmark Christmas Movies ( I have a lot of favorites, but I think if I have to pick.. “Help for the Holidays” is my favorite because its a fairly original plot) but this is one of the more diverse cast newer ones, featuring people of color. This is the movie I was actually thinking of (“The Holiday Calendar,” but it was a Netflix Christmas movie.) Tia Mowry also was has a couple she was featured in that I know of (Let’s do better, Hallmark. I love ya, but, let’s do better. xo)
-Decentralization (Read more via Latasha Morrison and Be the Bridge)
-My conversation with Dorena Williamson Part 1 and 2 - Conversations on decentralization, how to walk in seeing all of God’s people in how He made them and celebrating them, and on the need to do better and have more diversity in our American culture (especially with Christmas things!) and how to not only love one another better with compassion, but teaching our children to do the same and with much healthier verbiage.
-Our Intro to Advent Episode: Simply Advent: The True Story
-What Israel expected in a Messiah
-Discipleship Focus Podcast -- These are podcasts of Will Wyatt (the man, the myth, the legend) author of the Discovery Bible Study teaching. GO. LISTEN.
-Francine Rivers’ Lineage of Grace series :: Mary’s Story (The first link is where you can get them all together, the second link is just Mary’s by itself.)
-Saint Nicholas // (We LOVE the VeggieTales Saint Nicholas : A Story of Cheerful Giving)
-Jesse Tree and the Jesus Storybook Bible
Scripture References:
John 11: Jesus wept with his friends, and then raised Lazarus from the dead.
Galatians 5:22-23 -Peace is a fruit of the spirit
John 9 - The story of the blind man
Luke
1: Zechariah’s story,
Elizabeth’s pregnancy, she and Mary together and Mary’s response to
it all
Isaiah 9:6 -The Prince of Peace
Isaiah 53: The peace offering for sin and our punishment was on Him
John 7:6, John 2:4, John 8:20- My time is not yet come
John 6 - People asking Jesus for a sign
2 Corinthians 12:9-11 - In our weakness He is strong
John 16:33- In this world you will have trouble
Philippians 4:7- Peace without understanding
Ephesians 4:3-Let Peace hold you together
Ephesians 6:10-18-Armor of God fitted with the shoes of the gospel of peace
Mark 3:20-35-When Jesus’ brothers and sisters mad at Him
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Thank you, again, to ZonderKidz, Sally Lloyd Jones and The Jesus Storybook BIble
for allowing us to read portions of
their telling of the Christmas story for this Advent
series.
Connect with me over on Instagram and on my blog for more Advent resources, Christmas Giveaways, my Book Lovers Gift Guide and other general shenanigans.
The intro and outro music is by audionautix.com