Christmas can be filled with all the joy of the season but sometimes the true meaning of Christmas gets pushed aside unintentionally with all the fun things we try and do. Join Stacy and Jacque as they talk about how to walk through the season a little more intentionally. The ladies discuss ideas to help you plan and respond to everything coming at you a little less. They discuss ways to consider what you want the season to look like and how to keep it about Jesus.

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Resources

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Kids Books

📖 Advent Story Book: 24 Stories to Share Before Christmas by Antonie Schneider

📖 An Orange for Frankie by Patrica Polacco

📖 I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day by Lloyd and Karmel Newell

📖 Jotham’s Journey series by Arnold Ytreeide

📖 Joy to the World: Christmas Stories From Around the Globe by Saviour Pirotta

📖 Let There be Light” by Illustrated by Jane Ray

📖 The Christmas Blessing by Erin Guendelsberger

📖 The Crippled Lamb by Max Lucado

📖 The Legend of the Candy Cane by Lori Walburg

📖 The Tale of Three Trees by Angela Elwell Hunt

📖 The Three Gifts of Christmas by Jennie Bishop

Family Advent

🗓️ Jotham's Journey : A Storybook for Advent by Arnold Ytreeide

🗓️ Bartholomew's Passage : A Storybook for Advent by Arnold Ytreeide

🗓️ Tabitha's Travels : A Storybook for Advent by Arnold Ytreeide

🗓️ Family Advent Devotional by Matt & Lauren Chandler

Devotions

🙏 Emmanuel by Ruth Chou Simons

🙏 In the Lord I Take Refuge by Dane C. Ortlund

Movies

🎥 Best Christmas Pageant Ever

🎥 How the Grinch Stole Christmas the original or 2018 “The Grinch”

🎥 I Can Only Imagine

🎥 It’s a Wonderful Life

🎥 Klaus

🎥 The Muppet Christmas Carol

🎥 The Star - Animated

🎥 The Very First Noel Christmas: Journey with Three Wise Men on Their Wondrous Quest to Find the Newborn King

🎥 Veggie Tales: The Star of Christmas

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Anchor + Waves: Channel Credits

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🎙️ HOST:: Jacque Carlson, Stacy Ludwig

🎛️ PRODUCER + MIXING:: Lepard Productions

🎨 CREATIVE DIRECTOR:: Colin McFarland

A Product of Lepard Productions + The Mission Hills Podcast Network in Littleton, CO.

© Mission Hills Church - All Rights Reserved

Join Kim Fearing and her mother-in-law, Dr. Molly Fearing, as they have a candid conversation about the dynamics of their “in-law” relationship alongside their theological understanding of Ruth and its contemporary application.

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Reflection:

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✅ How do you live from a place of remembrance about who God is - in practical, everyday ways?

✅ What keeps you from intimacy in family relationships? What is there to celebrate in those relationships?

✅ How can you remain curious about challenging family members? What are some questions you can ask instead of judgment?

✅ What do you need from God in order to bring healing and restoration into some of those relationships?

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Healing, Hope, + Remembrance:

A Product of Anchor + Waves

Channel Credits

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🎙️ HOST:: Kim Fearing

🎛️ PRODUCER:: Lepard Productions

🎨 CREATIVE DIRECTOR:: Colin McFarland

A Product of Lepard Productions and the Mission Hills Podcast Network in Littleton, CO.

© Mission Hills Church - All Rights Reserved

From death to life. From famine to fertile land. From emptiness to fullness. We see the lives of Ruth and Naomi come full circle as God creates new life. With the creation of life comes the reminder that God desired his creation to live life to the fullest in the beginning and continues with that same desire. No one is forgotten in the story. Just as Obed is a sign of new life in Ruth, we live in remembrance that God will send his Son as the ultimate resurrection of new life. That is cause for celebration.

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Scripture/Book Reading:

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📖 Ruth Chapter 4

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Reflection:

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✅ What would it take for you to boldly pray as Ruth, Naomi and Boaz do in this chapter? Could you boldly write that prayer or even say it?

✅ Has there been a time in your life where you’ve chosen the easier path that didn’t interrupt your journey, even though you felt a compulsion from God to do something different? What held you back (i.e. loss of status, fear of something, shame, false image of self or God)? I’m guessing at the root of that reason is a lie - either about who you are or who God is. Can you name it?

✅ When you think of others seeing the character of God within you, name what that would be or what you hope that would be. Ask God to help you with that spiritual formation.

✅ Where do you see signs of new life that could only come from God and give cause for celebration?

“See, I am doing a new thing! Not it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” Isaiah 43:19

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Healing, Hope, + Remembrance:

A Product of Anchor + Waves

Channel Credits

=============================

🎙️ HOST:: Kim Fearing

🎛️ PRODUCER:: Lepard Productions

🎨 CREATIVE DIRECTOR:: Colin McFarland

A Product of Lepard Productions and the Mission Hills Podcast Network in Littleton, CO.

© Mission Hills Church - All Rights Reserved

Perhaps one of the hardest things for me to receive is that God works through me to be an answered prayer to someone whom he deeply loves. A reminder they are not forgotten. You are not forgotten. A reminder that what once felt empty can now be full. I wonder if we can begin noticing the ways God uses Ruth, Naomi and Boaz to answer one another’s prayers as they begin to remember who God is and who he has always been. A reminder that perhaps life can still be lived to the fullest.

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Scripture/Book Reading:

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📖 Ruth Chapter 3

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Reflection:

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✅ As you reflect on your own journey, does anyone come to mind who has been an answer to prayer? Does anyone come to mind where God used you to be an answer to their prayers? Take some to celebrate all of that! Maybe you feel compelled to send a note of gratitude to them.

✅ When is the last time you boldly asked God to redeem something in your life? And then believed God would be faithful to do it? Name it and write it somewhere so you can notice when his promises are fulfilled. Could you be brave enough to share it with a trusted friend? The individuals in Ruth share their burdens and prayers with one another. Perhaps trusting others with it reminds us to trust God with it too.

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Healing, Hope, + Remembrance:

A Product of Anchor + Waves

Channel Credits

=============================

🎙️ HOST:: Kim Fearing

🎛️ PRODUCER:: Lepard Productions

🎨 CREATIVE DIRECTOR:: Colin McFarland

A Product of Lepard Productions and the Mission Hills Podcast Network in Littleton, CO.

© Mission Hills Church - All Rights Reserved

In a world that speaks of coincidences, chapter 2 overflows with God’s sovereignty and providential timing. We can see him at work behind the scenes in every detail. Not only is it filled with reminders of God’s hesed love but also reminds us he will use anyone willing in order to reveal his character and love through them.

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Scripture/Book Reading:

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📖 Ruth Chapter 2

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Reflection:

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✅ How has God called you by name to reveal his character and love through you? Think about your personality, character traits, and passions. How do they reveal the character of God and love for his people and encourage others to live life to the fullest? Can you receive the truth that God is reflected in you because of those?

✅ As you listened to the pottery story, what thoughts did it spark about centering your faith in Christ? How do you handle unknowns? What do you believe about God already knowing how the pottery will turn out even if you don’t?

✅ Where can you imagine yourself in the development of characters in chapter 2? Are you the one of worthy standing and faithfulness similar to Boaz? Perhaps something about Ruth reminds you of yourself: one who has questions while also pursuing who God is. Or is it Naomi in the midst of her grief and unknowns, living a very different life than she imagined? Sit with that and wonder about who they were and how they moved forward with God and how you might too.

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Healing, Hope, + Remembrance:

A Product of Anchor + Waves

Channel Credits

=============================

🎙️ HOST:: Kim Fearing

🎛️ PRODUCER:: Lepard Productions

🎨 CREATIVE DIRECTOR:: Colin McFarland

A Product of Lepard Productions and the Mission Hills Podcast Network in Littleton, CO.

© Mission Hills Church - All Rights Reserved

Stacy Ludwig and guest host Kathy Stafford were able to sit down with Ruth Chou Simons to get to know a little more about Ruth the artist, faith-based speaker, entrepreneur and award-winning author. She was able to share her heart about being a mother for six boys, a little about her own spiritual journey, the origin of GraceLaced Co., and a loving word of encouragement to us all. Her newest devotional “Pilgrim: 25 Ways God’s Character Leads us Onward” is now available on Amazon Pilgrim and you can also check out all of Ruth’s products by going to GraceLaced.com.

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Anchor + Waves: Channel Credits

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🎙️ HOST:: Jacque Carlson, Stacy Ludwig

🎉 SPECIAL GUEST:: Ruth Chou Simons

🎛️ PRODUCER + MIXING:: Lepard Productions

🎨 CREATIVE DIRECTOR:: Colin McFarland

A Product of Lepard Productions + The Mission Hills Podcast Network in Littleton, CO.

© Mission Hills Church - All Rights Reserved

I wonder what our lives would look like and feel like if we understood what it meant to cleave to God and one another. To follow hard after someone requires trust. There is an innate trust between Ruth and Naomi, and between Naomi and God that we feel in Chapter 1. Ruth seems to feel it too, as she chooses to journey with Naomi back to her homeland, leaving behind everything - to begin living her life to the fullest. There is confusion and bitterness yet hope subtly hovers in the background with God, as two grieving widows cleave to one another walking into the unknown. 

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Scripture/Book Reading:

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📖 Ruth Chapter 1

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Reflection:

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✅ One of my favorite simple songs is “Beautiful Day,” by UpperRoom. The refrain is “Lord, thank you for sunshine; thank you for rain. Thank you for joy; thank you for pain. It’s a beautiful day.” I wonder what is hardest to be thankful for in your own life. When there is pain and grief, is there still a remembrance of who God is and what he has done?

✅ Are there any practices that could help you live in remembrance of who God is and what he has done? One of my favorites is to rewrite Psalm 136 with my own past remembrances of God’s “steadfast love that endures forever” in all circumstances. The practice of examen at the end of the day to reflect on where you felt the presence of God in the ordinary moments of your day can be a great daily practice.

✅ Is there anyone who comes to mind whom you feel compelled to come alongside in the midst of their pain and stick closely with him or her on their journey? Is there someone who has attempted to come alongside you whom you have been pushing away? Explore why. And then, go make that call!

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Healing, Hope, + Remembrance:

A Product of Anchor + Waves

Channel Credits

=============================

🎙️ HOST:: Kim Fearing

🎛️ PRODUCER:: Lepard Productions

🎨 CREATIVE DIRECTOR:: Colin McFarland

A Product of Lepard Productions and the Mission Hills Podcast Network in Littleton, CO.

© Mission Hills Church - All Rights Reserved

As we explore the Hebrew Scriptures, we begin to see that God’s desire is for his creation to live life to the fullest. There is historical and literary context that explains the significance of this leading up to the book of Ruth. We notice that God will use anyone willing to work alongside him in redeeming this messy world, and the theme of remembrance begins to emerge.

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Scripture/Book Reading:

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📖 Genesis - Judges

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Reflection:

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✅ What does remembrance (of who God has been for you and what he has done) look like for you? Are there parts of your life you can reflect upon and see him at work behind the scenes?

✅ Do you believe God desires you to live life to the fullest? Does he provide in abundance (teeming with life) or in scarcity? Can you notice why you believe what you do?

✅ What do your responses say about what you believe to be true about the character of God?

✅ What questions still linger about God as you understand him in the Old Testament?

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Healing, Hope, + Remembrance:

A Product of Anchor + Waves

Channel Credits

=============================

🎙️ HOST:: Kim Fearing

🎛️ PRODUCER:: Lepard Productions

🎨 CREATIVE DIRECTOR:: Colin McFarland

A Product of Lepard Productions and the Mission Hills Podcast Network in Littleton, CO.

© Mission Hills Church - All Rights Reserved

Follow the unlikely story of a young, widowed woman who leaves behind everything she has known to follow her mother-in-law to an unknown future. Witness how trust in an ever-present God brings hope and healing to women beaten down by life's circumstances. Explore how looking at your own life through new eyes will reveal how God is even now at work in you. Remember your God and Reignite your joy.

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Healing, Hope, + Remembrance:

A Product of Anchor + Waves

Channel Credits

=============================

🎙️ HOST:: Kim Fearing

🎛️ PRODUCER:: Lepard Productions

🎨 CREATIVE DIRECTOR:: Colin McFarland

A Product of Lepard Productions and the Mission Hills Podcast Network in Littleton, CO.

© Mission Hills Church - All Rights Reserved

It feels like the topic of sexual identity is more prominent now than ever. People are discussing it, our kids are asking about it and people are struggling now with it more than ever. The question is how do we love each other the way Jesus would want us to love while discussing these questions and choices. Join Stacy, Jacque, and special guest Jeff Baxter, the Next Gen Pastor at Mission Hills Church, as they discuss how to handle these conversations in a healthy way.

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Resources

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Books:

📚 Living in a Gray World: A Christian Teens’ Guide to Understanding Homosexuality | Preston Sprinkle

📚 People To Be Loved: Why Homosexuality is Not Just an Issue | Preston Sprinkle

📚 Embodied: Transgender Identities, The Church and What The Bible Has To Say | Preston Sprinkle

📚 What Does the Bible Really Teach About Homosexuality? | Kevin DeYoung

📚 Go and Grow: 5 Keys to Moving Your Faith Forward and Adulting in the Real World (Student, Mentor/Parent editions) | Jeff Baxter

Webpages:

📱 | https://news.gallup.com/poll/389792/lgbt-identification-ticks-up.aspx

📱 | https://www.beresfordresearch.com/age-range-by-generation/

📱 | https://www.prestonsprinkle.com

📱 | https://www.centerforfaith.com

📱 | https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/topics/lgbt/

📱 | https://www.gotquestions.org/sexual-immorality.html

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Anchor + Waves: Channel Credits

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🎙️ HOST:: Jacque Carlson, Stacy Ludwig

🎉 SPECIAL GUEST:: Jeff Baxter

🎛️ PRODUCER + MIXING:: Lepard Productions

🎨 CREATIVE DIRECTOR:: Colin McFarland

A Product of Lepard Productions + The Mission Hills Podcast Network in Littleton, CO.

© Mission Hills Church - All Rights Reserved