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.

John 3:16 - Day 8 - Holiday Haiku Challenge

Welcome to Day 8 of our Holiday Haiku Challenge  

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,

that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

Today's haiku is based on John 3:16. I challenge you to meditate on these familiar lines from Scripture in light of Christmas, then pen your own 17 syllable response. If you have forgotten your Jr. High teacher's lesson describing how to write a haiku, read this beautiful post by guest author (and Jr. High teacher) Bethany Hockenbury for a short and worshipful refresher.

And now, I give you today's #holidayhaiku writing challenge:

John 3:16

Make Room - Day 7 - Holiday Haiku Challenge

Welcome to Day 7 of our Holiday Haiku Challenge Today's writing prompt is

Make Room

I invite you to enjoy our guest's haiku. If you are inspired, please leave your own 17 syllables in the comment threat below or on Instagram, #holidayhaiku. If you have missed the beginning of our series, start here. And now, today's haiku...

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Make Room

by Elise Hurd

"And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger,

because there was no room for them in the inn." Luke 2:7

We sing freely: "Let every heart prepare Him room..."

But what if He doesn't come alone? What if He comes with "them"? This advent season, as we prepare room in our minds, hearts, and lives to welcome and celebrate Jesus -- let's make sure we prepare enough room for the "them" He will bring our way. Let's ask Him to open our eyes to who we don't have room for, who He wants us to prepare a special place for this season.

Let's prepare room for Him by preparing room for them, and not miss the gift of the great King who is Emmanuel.

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Our guest, Elise Hurd, is a creative mom with a passion to encourage others that ordinary faithfulness is the stuff of miracles. Yet her poetic contribution is anything but ordinary. Like all true art, Elise' haiku is open for interpretation. When I first read her words I was sure she had hidden some social commentary on the Syrian refuge crises within her 17 syllables, but she simply confessed that the people that are often the hardest to fit into our busy lives are the little ones who already live within our homes.

Elise Hurd is a wife and mom to four girls, with a little one on the way. She is a full-time caretaker for her father in law with Alzheimer's, a writer, the director of children's ministry at her home church, and the designer and shop owner of Little Lunch Maker. You can connect with her on Instagram @littlelunchmaker, or on her blog The Giving Place.

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.