Thanks to an unexpected home improvement – we discovered a leak in our bathroom and spent two weeks with contractors coming and going – I’m far from ready for Christmas even though I’ve had 356 days to prepare. What can we do if our doing is way past what needs to be done?
- In the midst of the rush to get caught up choose not to miss reflecting daily on the miracle of the Word becoming flesh (John 1:14).
- If you’ve not yet mailed your Christmas cards (I haven’t!), instead of just signing your name to a store-bought Christmas card, why not enclose a letter? Family and friends you rarely see will appreciate an update even though it’s a copy of a mass-produced letter. But more than just the “news,” ask Father how you can encourage them through sharing something He has taught you this year. Choose to be real.
- Write a Christmas poem or story and post it on your blog.
- Post Scripture promises to your social media pages.
- Write a Letter to the Editor to address efforts to take Christ out of Christmas. Write an intelligent, well-informed response and avoid preaching.
- Speak words of peace to friends and family who are divided from the turmoil in our nation over this year’s presidential election or other issues. See my ASSIST News article, “Peace at Christmas When Families Don’t Get Along.”
- Give books by your favorite authors to family and friends.
- Give yourself the gift of Tyndale’s The One Year Study Bible.
Another must-have gift for yourself – the hot-off-the-press Christian Writers MarketGuide 2017. I just received two boxes of the newly designed and much easier to use guide. Thanks, Steve Laube and Lin Johnson for your work on this needed resource. It retails for $22.99 but is available through the Write His Answer Ministries bookstore for only $17.99 plus $4.00 shipping. There is NO charge for shipping if your order for additional titles from the WHAM bookstore is $35 or more. Click here to order.
- Plan now to make 2017 the year of growing your writing skills by saving May 17-20 for the Colorado Christian Writers Conference or July 26-29 for the Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference. I’m praising God for how both conferences are coming together. Be watching for an update on the websites by the end of the year. Why not drop a hint that a conference would make a wonderful Christmas gift?
Father, thank You for the gift of Your Son. Thank You for the promise that “His life is the light that shines through the darkness – and the darkness can never extinguish it” (John 1:5 TLB). Help us to be bearers of His light through the words we write and lives we live.
My gift to you: You’ll find several free chapters from Write His Answer, now in print 25 years, at http://bit.ly/2h1qgs2.
“This book changed the way I write. I plan to read it again.” ~ Danni Andrew
Write His Answer 
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