Mary - Day 10 - Holiday Haiku Challenge

Welcome to Day 10 of our Holiday Haiku Challenge  

I have a handful of favorite authors, and this sweet gal is counted among them. Becky Keife writes lovely prose and always searches for contentment. The coupling of those two attributes leads her readers to desire that same peaceful satisfaction which can only be found in Christ.

Becky is a self proclaimed word lover, coffee drinker, and Jesus follower. She writes to slow time, give thanks, and awaken to God's daily wonders and grace.

I hope you will get to know her on her blog, BeckyKeife.com, or on Facebook.

Today Becky challenges us to write a haiku based on Jesus' mother

Mary

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Watchful Wonder

By Becky Keife

Can you imagine how Mary must have felt those last weeks leading up to Christ’s birth? Not only was she becoming a mother for the first time—a wild, scary, joy-filled adventure wrapped in so many expectations, hopes, and dreams. But she was becoming the mother of the Christ child. Her son—God’s Son. The promised Messiah.

What will he look like? What will he sound like? How will I raise him? Will I know what to say, what to do? How will I help him fulfill His Father’s plans?

Oh, how the questions must have swirled in her heart! Surely she was anxious to some measure. What woman wouldn’t have been? But Mary, chosen for her faith and steadfast obedience, must also have been full of joyous anticipation.

What will my son teach me? What ways will my trust in the Father grow deeper? When will Jesus’ true nature be revealed to the world? Will I get to see it? Will I be blessed to support him, cheer for him, pray over him each step of the way?

Christmas marks the end to Mary’s nine months of waiting for Christ’s birth while ushering in the beginning of a lifetime of watchful wonder. We have been given a similar invitation.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the gift of Your Son. Prepare our hearts through this advent season to receive the fullness of His coming in fresh ways. Awaken our minds to the wonder waiting for us in You. May we be as humble and patient as Mary, living eyes-opened and heart-surrendered to the work you plan to do in and through us. In the precious name of Jesus. Amen.

If you have missed any part of our haiku challenge, find a complete list of our daily themes here.

Silent Night - Day 9 - Holiday Haiku Challenge

Welcome to Day 9 of our Holiday Haiku Challenge I hope you are enjoying this advent exercise in condensing your devotion down to one praiseworthy thought each day. Adventing amidst your holiday hustle, all harnessed in 17 short syllables. If you have missed any of the privious post in this series, find them all here.  And now, onto today's challenge.

Silent Night

Silent Night

by Colleen Mitchell:

God comes quietly, and only quiet hearts will be ready. The world waited in 400 years of prophetic silence so it could hear his first breath. He could have come any other way, but he came quietly and the first to know were the ones who we were still enough to notice the slight shiftings in the heavens, the cry in the cold. How can you silence yourself to hear how he comes?

My guest today is Colleen Mitchell - wife to Greg and mother to five amazing sons here on earth and five precious little ones in heaven. She and her husband serve in Costa Rica where they run the St. Francis Emmaus Center, a ministry that welcomes indigenous mothers into their home. She works out what it means to love Jesus and live the Gospel as an adventure at her blog Blessed Are the Feet.

Be Still and Know - Day 6 - Holiday Haiku

Welcome to Day 6 of our Holiday Haiku Challenge

Today's guest shares my name and my love for words. I'm so pleased to introduce my sister-in-law, Cathi Speake. She is mother to my two nephews, wife to my brother, and a wicked talented Jr. High Teacher who loves to teach her sevvies (7th graders) the art of the haiku.

Her Holiday Haiku Challenge is to write 17 syllables inspired by Psalm 46:10

Be Still and Know

The Fragrance of Christmas - Day 5 - Holiday Haiku Challenge

Welcome to Day 5 of our Holiday Haiku Challenge Today’s guest, Mandy Mianecki, is preparing her heart this advent season by praying through the ancient scents mentioned in the holy Scriptures. The fragrances of frankincense and myrrh are literally wafting through her home as she leads her children deep into God’s Word this Christmas.

Perhaps the fragrances that fill your home today smell more like spiced cider and pork chops or candy canes mingling with evergreen boughs.

Regardless, don't we know at Christmastime that our lives poured out in worship is the most fragrant offering of all?

Dear Friends, today's Holiday Haiku Writing Prompt is

The Fragrance of Christmas

"Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume." -John 12:3

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Mandy Mianecki is a wife and mom of four. She is passionate about encouraging others in their healing journeys from brokenness into wholeness, in uncovering their unique kind of God-breathed brilliance, and in living in the freedom won by Christ. A God-sized dreamer, art maker, lover of all things turquoise, and Nutella-eater, Mandy also runs an essential oil business, blogs at mandymianecki.com, and is a contributing writer for God-sized Dreams. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

For more information on oils referenced in scripture, see Mandy's Bible Oils page.

Christmas Lights - Day 4 - Holiday Haiku

Welcome to Day 4 of our Holiday Haiku Challenge. Today's guest is Julie Kieras, author of the popular website happystronghome.com. Julie and I "met" a little over a year ago when she ran a series on her blog entitled, "The Poetry of Parenting Boys". As a BoyMom myself, who also happens to love poetry, I knew immediate that I had found a soul sister. We've been scheming up a way to work together on a project ever since!

Julie chose today's Holiday Haiku Challenge writing prompt:

Strands of Christmas Lights

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Light is always needed in the dark

By Julie Kieras

Colorful leaves give way to colorful lights in my part of the country. This year, I spy Peanuts gang instead of peaceful manger scenes as I drive through towns and neighborhoods.

Yet as municipal decor grows increasingly secularized, one standard Christmas decor remains: lights. Lights looping around evergreens, rooftops, and doorways. Telegraph lines of lights sending dotted messages down streets.

Winter's season is darker than the others by nature. And Light is always needed in the dark.

"The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light." Isaiah 9:2

People walk in darkness of the soul these days, just as Israel walked in darkness.

Passage after passage in Scripture reveals the need for the Light of the Gospel to shine forth from our hearts to the world. Jesus said both "I am the light of the world," and that "ye are the light of the world." (John 8:12; Matthew 5:14).

So when Wendy invited me to write a haiku for Christmas - a small dwelling place in a poem - my heart was drawn to speak of the Light that came for us through the darkness.

I hope this haiku shines into your holiday celebrations, and that you are blessed:

This year as you walk through bedazzled streets and shops, each time you see a strand of Christmas lights, dwell on the image of God, commanding the light to shine out of darkness (2 Corinthians 4:6) into the hearts of men.

Lord, may Your Light shine forth from our souls, that those who see it may be drawn out of darkness to You. Amen.

Amen

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Don't forget to use today's post to inspire a holiday Haiku of your own. Share it in the comment thread below or post it to Instagram #holidayhaiku

For more information about this series... start at the beginning.