The Story Behind God’s Glory, Our Peace

I am thrilled to share that my brand new Christmas Bible study is available now! I am sure most of you aren’t ready to hear about Christmas yet. But now is a great time to start thinking and praying about what it would look like to spend intentional time in God’s Word and prayer this December. In the meantime, I would simply like to take this opportunity to share the story behind God’s Glory, Our Peace—a 25-Day Christmas Bible study about God’s great plan and promise to bring peace.

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The Concept

Last year, I created a short Bible reading plan as a freebie on my publisher’s blog and a bookmark you can purchase in my shop. It included three themes: The Gospel, Fulfilled Prophecies, and the Christmas Story. Reflecting on each deepens our understanding of the significance of Christ’s birth.

When my publisher suggested I write a Christmas Bible study this year, I was so excited! I chose to expand on the same concept I came up with for the reading plan. And as I prayerfully planned, God refined the scriptural themes and passages we’d focus on for the study. God’s Glory, Our Peace is broken down into three sections:

1. The Plan: Creation, Fall, Redemption Restoration (the overarching story of the Bible—including the gospel)
2. The Promise: Prophecies of Christ’s Birth
3. The Peace: The Christmas Story

One of my favorite parts of writing this study was seeing how God brought the content together in a way I did not expect. I knew all of these themes would deepen our understanding of Christmas. But God opened my eyes to His greater purpose in revealing Jesus’ arrival the way He did. I am so excited for you to discover that as well as you work through this study!

Growing Through An Unexpected Turn of Events

I had planned to create this study over the course of about five months. But in the spring, my publisher expressed a need to accelerate the timeline quite a bit. I was about halfway done writing when they asked if I could have the book completed several weeks sooner so that we could release the book well before December. This meant studying and writing long hours each day. But I knew that if this was God’s timeline, He would equip me to finish by the new deadline. And He did!

This change of plans was not my plan, but I now see how God blessed it. He grew me in surrender and dependence on Him. Likewise, He taught me how not to rush, but to trust Him as I took the time needed to devote to each lesson and commentary. He revealed His power at work in my weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). And I was so encouraged when my mother-in-law, who was one of my editors, told me that some of her favorite lessons were written on the days where I felt particularly tired and mentally weak. God truly gets all of the glory for this book. He sustained and equipped me through some challenging days of studying, writing, and lettering… all while I was pregnant!

Hitting a Wall

When I finally got to writing the last few lessons, I hit a wall. I had been working some very long days for a few weeks and I basically mentally shut down. I was working from a rigid schedule, so I was afraid to take a break. But I knew I couldn’t force the ending and needed to trust God to provide it. So I took took a few days off to just pray, meditate on the final passages, and listen to sermons. And God graciously used that time to reveal the ending and solidify the title and overarching theme of the whole study. In the end, I’m confident that God’s Glory, Our Peace is a better study because of the challenges God allowed me to face while creating it. Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing (John 15:5) and He used this experience to grow my understanding and application of that truth.

Order God’s Glory, Our Peace Today!

Thanks for taking a moment to hear a bit of the story behind God’s Glory, Our Peace. Again, I know it might feel too early to think about Christmas, but I hope I at least sparked your interest. I mentioned in my book introduction that there were many years I had good intentions to go deeper in the Word during Christmastime but didn’t plan ahead. So, I invite you to start thinking and praying now about engaging in this study. Order God’s Glory, Our Peace today, read my introductory content about the structure of the study, and check out my tips for making room in your schedule for intentional time with God during the busy Christmas season. I pray this study will be a great blessing to you this year and I look forward to sharing more about it as Christmas approaches!