joy Archives - Carmen Horne

Hey friends, welcome Ellen Chauvin to our porch. I wrote for her a few weeks ago, Learning to Listen. Hop over there to remind yourself of how Ellen and I met. Ellen has an amazing Christmas e-book that she is gifting to her subscribers and she wants to offer it to Y’all too.

Ellen is a joy to be with and a steady, calm voice to my heart when I need it. Enjoy the words she has written for you today.

You. Hey you! The one with the pumpkin spice candle burning. The one holding a pumpkin spice latte. You in your boots and all your fall colors, and a scarf tied around your neck! Yeah, you.
I have a reality check for you: there are only sixteen more days until DECEMBER! Yes! Only sixteen! You know what that means, don’t you?

Frasier Fir candles and air fresheners! Ummm, they smell so much better than pumpkin spice! Oh, yeah, there’s also this: Christmas pillows EVERYWHERE! Along with holly and pine garland and poinsettia!

Sadly, it also means rushing around. RUSH, RUSH, RUSH from church parties to company parties to family get-togethers. You shop until you drop for just the perfect gift, you bake until you can’t stand to see another dessert in the house. You run, run, run until you can’t go anymore.

I know. I’ve been there. It’s EXHAUSTING!

Matter of fact, I was there last year. I was so frazzled with the frenzied, frantic, fast and furious pace that I made a decision. I would spend a few minutes each morning, quietly reading the scriptures that told the story of Jesus’ birth. I took just a few passages each day and soaked in them. It calmed my heart.

I figured if I needed this slowing and calming, maybe you do too? That’s why I turned all my notes into a 21-day advent devotion called Abiding Joy. My prayer is that it will help YOU slow down and ponder the birth of Jesus.

It will take five minutes or less for each days reading. But DON’T! Don’t rush through it. Ponder what it was like to stand with the shepherds in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks at night. Imagine what a sight it must have been to see the multitude of heavenly hosts and hear them singing “Glory to God in the highest!”

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Luke 2:13-14 (KJV)

Let your imagination smell the hay in the manger, and watch while Mary and Joseph gaze upon their newborn babe for the very first time! Put yourself in the story. Linger over it!
Ask yourself this: Do I need to slow down this Christmas season? Do I need to get back to the basics of the Christmas story?

If your answer is YES, I believe Abiding Joy will help you do just that. You can click here (Sign Up For Abiding Joy) to receive at no cost, my 21 day PDF devotion in your inbox on December 1. It’s my gift to you. Click here for a sample of Abiding Joy. Just a little bit of Christmas to prepare you for the complete e-book delivery after you sign up. I pray it blesses you tremendously!

Thank you! And (ahem!) may your home be filled with the fragrance of Frasier Fir this Christmas!

Ellen pens her stories from the Bayou Country of South Louisiana, but her heart and birthplace are in Mississippi. She’s a Southern Belle through and through. When not writing and digging into God’s Word, you can find Ellen digging in her flower beds, relaxing on the back porch, hanging out with her grandkids, or traveling with her husband John.

Ellen has loved writing since high school, but this passion lay dormant for many decades. When her mom passed away in 2011, Ellen felt the Lord urging her to write her stories, stories that help her see the story of His faithfulness He is writing in her life.

Ellen has a passion to see women grow in the yearning and thirst for God’s Word. She is passionate about scripture and shares the truths she finds there at Ellen Chauvin (dot) com. Ellen encourages her readers to soak in God’s Word and sprout seeds of faith.

She has contributed to Deeper Waters, Word Nerd Wednesday, The Laundry Moms, Sweet to the Soul, The Consilium and The Message, a study magazine published annually by the women’s department of WEGOM, a non-denominational evangelistic organization in Nigeria.

Follow Ellen on Facebook and Twitter

I’m not quite sure where my love of bread came from. I cannot remember coming into our home after school and smelling fresh-baked bread. There are no memories of being at Grandma’s and watching her knead dough, waiting with anticipation (and butter) for the first slice. I do love me some bread though.

This past summer I decided to limit carbs (sigh). Of course, this means bread. Sugar in all its shimmering, white splendor does not tempt me like bread. Warm bread with good butter – my, my, my.

Bread was a staple in Jewish culture – really, in many cultures. I get that. Fresh, hot, and dipped in some olive oil. Oh, and a crunchy crust. So, Jesus knew that those around Him (and you and I too) would understand about bread.

In Exodus 3:14 God first introduces Himself to Moses as, “I AM”. What does that mean? Over the next few weeks we will see how God brings His statement to life through Jesus.

What could be a reason for Jesus to describe Himself as the bread of life?

In difficult times throughout history, bread has often been the only nourishment to fill bellies. I have heard many stories of depression era lunches consisting of biscuits and syrup brought to work or school in a pail. To bake a loaf you need only a few basic ingredients – flour, water, yeast and salt. Simple. Nourishing. Life sustaining.

Earlier in John 6, Jesus had fed 5000+ with a little fella’s lunch of five loaves and two fish. It was miraculous and they all were filled. I can only imagine the scene. With that picnic fresh on their minds, Jesus wants them to understand that He was there for more than what could be seen.

There is a difference in coming to Jesus for bread and because He is Bread. – Lysa Terkeurst, Finding I AM

They knew about manna – bread from heaven. They had heard the stories. Now, this man is feeding them too. What they didn’t get that Jesus wanted them to get (us too) was that He was much more than a meal ticket. He is Bread.¹ He is and will always be the only one who satisfies. Our relationship with Him is what fills us and nourishes us and sustains us.

When we eat (consume) what the world provides, we hunger again. Gosh, most often I have found, we are hungrier. It’s a gnawing that never completely goes away. Yet, when we fill (ongoing) our selves with Jesus, we can live satisfied.

Satisfaction is a sacred place to find, not a circumstance to fall into place. – Lysa Terkeurst, Finding I AM

Footnotes – ¹John 6:47-51

Pondering the Birth of Jesus

Bread that Satisfies