Just as Christmas lights draw crowds with their warmth and beauty, the true Light, Jesus, draws our hearts toward hope.

In a season filled with lights, matching pajamas, and festive sweaters, we pause to remember the humility of Jesus’ birth—swaddling cloths, a borrowed manger, and the quiet arrival of our Servant-King.

My prayer is that as you read, you’ll rediscover the comfort of knowing Christ is both your Keeper and your King. May this reminder help you sort through the noise of life and cling to the One who will never let you go.

My desire is that these words remind you that Christmas preparation is more than activity—it’s an invitation to serve as Jesus served.

As you walk through Advent, may you slow down, notice His nearness, and remember that the Savior who once cried with us now dwells within us.

Even when waiting feels uncomfortable, Scripture shows it can become sacred space for growth. Paul’s example teaches us that God works powerfully in seasons where time seems to stand still.

God has always chosen imperfect people to color the pages of his redemption story. When fear rises as he calls us, we can trust that his history of faithfulness ensures the outcome.

Through a grandson’s simple “Good morning” and love for Jesus, we’re reminded that the message of Christ is both personal and communal—drawing every generation into His joy. As we share the gift of Jesus with others, our own fellowship with Him grows deeper and our joy becomes complete.

You are invited to remember the extraordinary gift God has already placed in your hands—a faith strengthened by His power and designed to grow through daily discipline.

As we close this year and step into the next, we are encouraged to trust in God’s unchanging presence, knowing that He will continue to bring comfort, joy, and purpose as we serve Him and others in the coming year.

Eternal life is not just a future promise; it is something we can experience now as we live and love like Jesus, with the confidence that both we and our departed loved ones are alive in Christ.

While calendars and schedules help us manage our lives, they can also distract us from the deeper purpose of Advent and Christmas—to encounter the presence of Jesus in a meaningful way.

While the physical celebrations of Christmas come to an end, the spiritual work of Christ—His finished sacrifice and the ongoing transformation He brings—continues in our lives and hearts.

Merry Christmas from Dean Collins!

In Luke 2, we read that Mary gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manager. Consider this for a moment. God  chose to put on skin and be bound in swaddling clothes.

When the twins returned, Alice discovered Jesus under the couch, illustrating how, like in life, sometimes we need to seek God intentionally to rediscover His presence.

While scholars have written volumes about the incarnation, my grandson’s enthusiasm for the coming of Jesus brought me back to the essence of Christmas—celebrating the Savior’s birth with simple, childlike joy.

Advent calls us to reflect on God’s faithfulness, just as David reflected on God’s deliverance, and to remember that the reason we wake each day is because God sustains us.

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus and await His return, we can relate to the Israelites’ longing for deliverance and the sense of waiting that often makes our hope feel distant, yet we know Jesus will return to restore all things.

After discovering my grandchildren's playful rearranging of nativity figures, I reflected on how even small disruptions can remind us of the enduring presence of Jesus in our lives.