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Ann Wilson was simply trying to help her husband, Dave, become a godlier man. But Dave felt like she was constantly “booing him” as a husband and father. The Wilsons explain why spouses need to be more encouraging and supportive of one another, focusing on positives rather than negatives in your spouse.

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Joy sounds simple at Christmastime … until life brings loss, disappointment, or unanswered prayers. In this Advent episode, Wendy Blight joins Kaley Olson and Ellen Adkins to share how Jesus brings joy — not to replace suffering but right in the middle of it. Through Wendy’s honest personal story and a biblical look at joy throughout Scripture, you’ll discover how true joy isn’t rooted in circumstances — it's rooted in the presence of Jesus who meets us, sustains us, and carries us through things we never asked for.

A powerful message for anyone who’s wondering how joy is possible in a season that feels anything but joyful.

You’ll learn:

• Why biblical joy is more than a feeling — it’s something God gifts us through His Spirit.
• How joy grows in seasons of pain, unanswered prayer, or physical and emotional suffering.
• Why lament isn’t the opposite of joy — it's often the doorway to it.
• Practical ways to shift your gaze from your circumstances to Christ.
• What Scripture teaches about a future joy that no loss or sorrow can take away.

Resources From This Episode:

• Join us for Advent in the First 5 app!
  Download the free app, and spend five minutes each day studying God’s Word with women around the world.
• Go deeper with our brand-new Advent study guide, More Than a Manger.
  Experience the Christmas story with fresh eyes through rich biblical teaching and meaningful daily reflections.
• Help more women access biblical Truth this season.
  Your generosity fuels everything we do — from free podcasts to devotions to study resources.
  [Give to Proverbs 31 Ministries today.]
• Click here to download a transcript of this episode

Want More on This Topic? 

• Listen to this Therapy & Theology episode titled “How Can I Trust God When I Don’t Understand What He Allows?”

When you forgive someone, you free yourself. Forgiveness takes you out of the bondage of bitterness and you literally take out the trash that’s preventing you from enjoying all the blessings that God has in store for you.

Ann Wilson was simply trying to help her husband, Dave, become a godlier man. But Dave felt like she was constantly “booing him” as a husband and father. The Wilsons explain how and why spouses need to be more encouraging and supportive of one another, focusing on positives rather than negatives, and meeting each other’s needs emotionally.

When Christ was born, so was our hope. This is why I love Christmas. The event invites us to believe the wildest of promises: He did away with every barrier, fence, sin, bent, debt, and grave. Anything that might keep us from him was demolished. He only awaits our word to walk through the door. Invite him in, escort him to the seat of honor, and pull out his chair. Clear the table; clear the calendar. Call the kids and neighbors. Christmas is here. Christ is here.

One request from you, and God will do again what he did then: scatter the night with everlasting light. He’ll be born in you. Let “Silent Night” be sung. Every heart can be a manger. Every day can be a Christmas. The Christmas miracle—a yearlong celebration!

Read more Because of Bethlehem

For more inspirational messages please visit Max Lucado.

Episode 2.65

Every December, churches sing Joy to the World as if it were written for the manger. But historically—and theologically—that’s not quite true. In this episode, Michael and Zach explore the surprising origins of one of the most beloved Christmas hymns and ask a simple question: What is this song actually about?

Written by Isaac Watts and drawn primarily from Psalm 98, Joy to the World is not a nativity hymn but a declaration of kingship. It celebrates the Lord coming to reign, judge the world with righteousness, and restore creation—not the quiet birth of a child in Bethlehem. There are no shepherds, angels, or manger scenes here. Instead, the imagery is cosmic: seas roaring, fields rejoicing, nations witnessing salvation, and creation responding to the arrival of its King.

That doesn’t make Joy to the World unfit for Christmas—it makes it richer. Christmas marks the arrival of the King whose reign Psalm 98 anticipates. Advent looks not only backward to Christ’s first coming but forward to His return. The hymn pulls Christmas out of sentimentality and anchors it in hope: sin and sorrow will not reign forever, because Christ does.

In a season often focused on comfort and nostalgia, Joy to the World reminds believers that Christmas is not just about a baby—it’s about a throne. We sing it not because the world is already joyful, but because its King has come…and He’s coming again.

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