Greetings, dear friends!

For those of you who read my weekly posts, I ask your forgiveness for not posting last week. I was a bit under the weather. You may want to consider subscribing to this blog. That way you will recieve notification as soon as my blog is posted each week. I post every Monday.

Now on to the topic. I love the Christmas season; the sights, the smells, and the sense that hope is within our reach. I know that for many, this season ushers in stress, fear, and anxiety. As much as we would love for our lives to represent the thirty second holiday commercials, most of us know what it is to barely hang on while those around us celebrate with glee.

Life has a way of disregarding the special dates on the calendar. Thankfully, the promise of peace doesn't abide by a schedule either. We are promised peace and love on every day, in every situation. And yet, how easy it is to let anxious and fearful thoughts tie us up like an old string of Christmas lights. It seems wrong that one burnt-out bulb can extinguish a whole string of lights, but it can. It seems equally unfortunate that the darkness of fear often overtakes our capacity for faith, hope and love.