Jerusha: I’m delighted to welcome back Stacey Weeks, one of our favorite FW Blog guests! Stacey is offering a digital copy of her new Christmas novella, Mistletoe Movie Star, to one of you. So read on, and enter the giveaway below!
By Stacey Weeks
In many ways, we are approaching a Christmas like no other. We battle a global pandemic and an uncertain future. The ever-changing circumstances tempt us to shift our eyes from God and fix them on the brewing storm, the evolving virus, or the angry headlines.
As our attention diverts, anxiety rises. Stomachs churn. Hearts pound. Palms sweat. Uncertainty and fear birth physical symptoms that cause real, physical pain.
I suspect that Christmas isn’t playing out exactly as many of us had hoped or planned.
One of my coping strategies when anxiety rises is to temporarily escape into a fictional world where I am confident that, despite the obstacles in the story, the ending is happy.
In my new novella, Mistletoe Movie Star, Charlene Kelley embraces three young sisters, and it changes her holiday plans. No longer consumed with feel-good movies, ice skating, and cranberry wassail, she now focuses on providing stability for her instant family in a community wrought with economic instability. She has no idea what the future holds or how God will answer her desperate pleas, and she certainly doesn’t see how the return of her childhood friend—now a Hollywood star—factors into her plans.
You might be in a similar place. Perhaps a virus that is closing borders and claiming lives has you fighting anxiety, and you need to quiet your fears.
Perhaps prolonged isolation has created a void so dark that you can’t see hope.
You need to feel God’s presence and remember that He will never leave you or forsake you.
Or maybe you are wondering why God has allowed your faith’s foundation to crack, and you need the peace of God.
We are not the first to face uncertainty. Environmental disasters, genocide, local and world-wide wars, terrorism, poverty, accidents, biohazards, the rise and fall of nations have all hit humanity at various points in history, and they continue to threaten the future.
Like those who have gone before us in facing difficult times, like Char and Jonas learn to do in Mistletoe Movie Star, we must fix our heart and mind on the One who controls the wind and the waves.
We believe in the One who commands the storm to be quiet and still.
We trust the One who knows the beginning from the end.
The Lord is our anchor. He is our strength. He is our peace.
He is all that is stable in an instable world.
Something magical happens in Mistletoe Movie Star as the people of the small town Mistletoe Meadows learn to work together, depend on one another, and celebrate the gifts we won’t find under a tree.
The gifts we cannot wrap—faith, the Word of God, the Holy Spirit indwelling is us—are the real treasures.
As Char in Mistletoe Movie Star faces great uncertainty, she leans on those gifts and clings to the Scripture hidden in her heart. I’d like to share with you a quick excerpt from this story that I hope will encourage you today:
She squeezed her eyes shut. Lord, give me wisdom. She immediately thought of 2 Chronicles 20. When King Jehoshaphat was afraid, he set his face to seek the Lord. His words to the Lord poured from Char’s mouth, “We are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We don’t know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”
“Huh?”
She snapped her eyes open and turned partway to find all three girls staring at her. “It’s in the Bible. From a time when all of Judah stood before the Lord. Women, children, and men were desperate for God to intervene and save them.”
“What did God do?” Nat asked.
“The Lord instructed them to not be afraid because the battle was not theirs.”
“Whose battle was it?” Beth asked.
“It belonged to the Lord.” As Char said the words, a peace like no other descended upon her. The battle belonged to the Lord. “The people were told they needn’t fight, but if they stood firm and held their position, they’d see the salvation of the Lord on their behalf.”
2 Chronicles 20 might not be your typical go-to-chapter of Scripture for encouragement, but perhaps it should be. When we are powerless, when we don’t know what to do, we are to fix our heart and mind on the all-powerful One.
Sometimes we are called to enter the battle and fight, like Charlene fighting politics to secure hope and provision for those most vulnerable. Sometimes we fight like Jonas, fighting the by-laws and roadblocks delaying the needed relief.
All times we fight on our knees, bringing the battle to the Lord.
This Christmas, whatever you face, face it with your eyes on the Lord. Stand firm on His Word. Hold your position. Be confident in your salvation.
Are you struggling with fear this Christmas season? How does keeping your eyes on God help you beat your fears?
Photos by Chad Madden, Roberto Nickson, Joann Kosinska, and David Beale. Original graphics designed by Christen Krumm.
Stacey Weeks is a ministry wife, mother of two teens and one tween, and a sipper of hot tea with honey. She loves to open the Word of God and share the hope of Christ with women. She is a multi-award-winning author, the primary home-educator of her children, and a frequent conference speaker.
Her messages have been described as rich in the truths of Scripture, gospel-infused, and life-changing.
Stacey is currently completing a graduate certificate in women’s ministry with Heritage College and Seminary and hopes to earn her Master of Theological Studies.
Connect with Stacey on her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Stacey is giving away one digital copy of Mistletoe Movie Star! Enter via the Rafflecopter below! (Giveaway ends December 21, 2020. Open internationally.)
Mistletoe Movie Star
The town of Mistletoe Meadows is built around the magic of Christmas. As jingling sleighs cart rosy-cheeked lovers around the Mistletoe Mile, Charlene’s holiday dream is more complicated than photo-shopped perfection. She proposes a compassion ministry initiative called the Gingerbread House but struggles to convince the town that their need for a homeless shelter is real.
Famous for his made for television holiday movies, Jonas longs for a happily-ever-after that isn’t as neat and tidy as his unrealistic films. Partnering with Char to champion her ministry invigorates him with a new purpose and provides an excuse to spend time with the girl he never forgot. But when they embrace three young sisters fighting to stay together while living on the streets, their project becomes deeply personal.
Together, they prove to a town reluctant to see anything other than holiday perfection that the greatest gift of the season isn’t found under a tree.
Comments 8
Thanks for having me today! Merry Christmas to you and your readers.
Author
Great to host you again, Stacey! Your Christmas novella sounds so fun!
This sounds like a great book. Intriguing a page turner and so much more. I would love to read and review the print format of the book.
This author sounds likes they write intriguing books.
I love to see authors who write books like this.
I look forward to learning more about the author and their books.
Hi Crystal, this novella only released as an ebook so there is no print copy. Still, I hope you enjoy it!
That’s OK, My opinion stands as this book looks like a great read and more.
I’m sure I’ll enjoy it.
Thank You Jerusha and Stacey
I’m totally bias- but I think it’s a fabulous story! ❤️
Thanks so much for the wonderful message of hope. Great Scripture to go to and I loved your examples from your novella.
Hi Anne,
Thanks for commenting! Good luck in the draw (if you entered!)