• Devotionals,  Faith

    Blessed and Highly Favored? Short and Sweet Christmas Devotionals

    Luke 1:28 “And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” Naturally, we want the Christmas story to be a happy one. It’s our tendency to romanticize events even in the Bible, but sometimes the most significant stories are filled with pain, disappointments, tragedy and grief. Mary’s story within the Christmas story is one that has always fascinated me in that way. If I could talk to her, I’d love to hear her take. Not the commercialized, glamorized story we may tell. I mean the story that is less celebrated.

  • Devotionals,  Faith

    Candy Cane Christmas: Sweet and Short Christmas Devotionals

    Every year, we buy a box of candy canes and hook them one by one onto our wooden snowman candy cane holder that sits on the kitchen counter for the whole Christmas season. The candy canes look pretty, and I’m sure they taste delicious, but I couldn’t really tell you. That’s the funny thing: although we do this every year, I’m always so busy running from work to church to Christmas parties that I don’t think I’ve ever actually eaten one.             There’s a bit of controversy about where the candy cane originated, but most people think that a choirmaster from the late 17th century had trouble keeping his young choir…

  • Devotionals

    Merry Christmas from Me

    Merry Christmas Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a…

  • Devotionals,  Faith

    Has Anyone Seen Jesus

    Has Anyone Seen Jesus? [Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Terasha Burrell, wrapping up A Very Diva Christmas! Besides a short post from myself this coming Thursday, that’ll be it! Terasha was not the last person to submit her post, but after reading it I knew it had to be the last guest post in our Christmas series. It’s a wonderful call-to-action to remember who the season is about, and how to share Him with others.] His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover. And when He was twelve years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. When…

  • Devotionals

    A Mary Little Christmas

    A Mary Little Christmas [Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Carla Gasser, past Diva Christmas series guest blogger, and the latest installment of the A Very Diva Christmas guest blogger series! All of these devotionals are inspired by the Christmas story — here’s Carla’s take on how to “Have Yourself a Mary Little Christmas…”] A few years ago I wrote an Advent devotional entitled “Have Yourself a Mary Little Christmas.” I was convicted regarding my role in making Christmas “merry” for my family and wanted to go back to the first Christmas and see where maybe I was getting things wrong. ” I took a look at the very first…

  • Devotionals

    A Heart in Waiting 

    A Heart in Waiting [Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Constance Darby and the next installment in A Very Diva Christmas. I hope you are enjoying our annual Christmas guest post series! Thank you so much to Constance for this Christmas devotional — it is very much her story, exactly what Devotional Diva is all about!] Luke 2: 19 but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. I remember sitting in the Lawless Chapel of Dillard University, twelve years ago, as an incoming freshman. The chapel was filled with 17, 18 and maybe even 19 year olds all eager to embark on…

  • Devotionals

    A Blessing in the Burdens

    A Blessing in the Burdens [Editor’s Note: This is a guest post by Winslow E. Dixon and the second post in A Very Diva Christmas. I tried to make all of the posts flow well in the series. Since Alisha Ritchie’s opening guest post dealt with Mary’s response to her pregnancy, I thought Winslow’s take on how Joseph also dealt with the news would be a good follow-up.] And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of…

  • A Very Diva Christmas 2016
    Devotionals

    Joyous Response

    Joyous Response [Editor’s Note: A Very Diva Christmas is here! This is a guest post by Alisha Ritchie, who we are welcoming back to kick off the series! As you recall, (or not if you are new…welcome!) this is the 3rd annual Christmas series at Devotional Diva. All of the posts will be focused on the Christmas story, specifically Luke 1 or 2. This guest post devotional series will span three weeks, and I truly hope it can inspire you this Christmas season. I am so thrilled with all of the submissions and writers that helped me put this together. Thank you! Also, all of the photos that will be…