Today, I have a gift I want to give you. I’s a gift EVERY WOMAN NEEDS! And it’s tucked inside this short video. I recorded it last week for a friend’s Christmas give-away, but after I finished it, I just knew God wanted me to give it to you too! So, instead of reading about it, please click the arrow below so I can tell you about it.
I’ve got a question and a give-away for you, but first here are some things I want to share::
Printable Christmas Prayer
For those hopping over from my P31 devotion today, welcome! That story I share in the video is the year that led to the writing of my Christmas prayer. If you’d like to receive a FREE printable version of it, please enter your email in the box below and click signup.You’ll receive an email within 24 hours that include links to download the prayer as a printable 4×6, 5×7 or 8×10 you can frame for yourself and give as gifts.
Confident Heart Online Study
I also want to invite you to join me and women from all over who will gather here beginning January 16th to read through my book, A Confident Heart. We’ll walk through each chapter together and discover how we can overcome self-doubts and strong or even subtle insecurity by learning how to to live in THE security of God’s promises! I’m so excited about all God’s laying on my heart for our study, and I’d love for you to be part of this special community where we’ll share encouragement, prayers and stories of all that God is doing in and through us!
To join us, enter your info and click Sign Up..
To find out more details about online study, click here.
Enter Today’s Give-away
How you are going to give yourself grace this Christmas? I’ll share my answer in the comments below. You can share yours and any other thoughts you have about video message or the topic of my devotion and you’ll be entered to win this gift pak just in time for Christmas:
- Copies of my book (for you & two friends)
- 3 Sets of Confident Heart conference calls (optional)
- $10 Starbucks gift card
- Godiva Chocolate Bar
Click below this post where it says “Share Your Thoughts” and do just that. Then be sure to share this post with friends (see those tell-a-friend buttons? They make it really easy). If you do, leave another comment and tell me. You’ll be entered twice! {Update: Congratulations Angel Miller (your were selected in our prayerful yet random drawing for a winner. We’ll email you details! Thank you all for entering. Be sure to sign up for email updates in the sidebar so you don’t any future give-aways!)
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I am giving myself grace this year by not going overboard with gifts. I have cut way back this year. I am not giving to very many people and my children are not receiving as much. First and foremost because I cannot afford to but secondly, my family is realizing that it is not about the big expensive gifts, it is about the true meaning, Jesus and spending time with your family. And, I am not spazzing over this either. God has put me in a good place, I have peace and confidence.
Have a very Merry and Blessed Christmas!
I shared this on my facebook wall…I have lots of girlfriends who need to know this and do it!
I’m giving my self grace to not stress about the little things…or the big things. I’ve done no shopping yet, no Christmas Cards out, no Family picture yet. I’ve been so busy with travel for work, planning our Wedding Vow Renewal (happened Nov 25th…YAY!) and all the “kids” stuff that I have been needing to just rest in the Father’s arms. SO I am going to not worry about Christmas cards this year and just take a break and rest in His arms.
I’m letting the children do the decorating this year. We also agreed to keep gift buying low. We choose to rest this season and enjoy our time together as a family.
I’m allowing myself NOT to give EVERYONE a gift. I have so many people in my family and people I am close to, so my list of giving tends to be longer than my wallet is deep! I was excited that I sent out Christmas cards to everyone for the first time EVER, so that is my gift this year.
<3 Heather
BTW, I retweeted your Tweet and sent it out via FB 🙂
its my 53rd birthday ….DEC 25th…..i will enjoy my day with the Lord and family
Thank you so much for the Christmas prayer…….I can’t wait to share this with my friends and family. We do get caught up in the expectations of this season. I have felt like I was doing something wrong if I didn’t a a certain feeling. I need to be reminded there is abundant grace for all of us and remind ourselves it’s not about us.
My grace started last year when I didn’t include our annual letter in our cards. So freeing to not stress over it. This year I got it done the first week in November and condensed two years worth of happenings into one simple letter. Grace this year is not going to every single thing that is on the calendar! Our families live out of town/state so we will be with good friends during the holidays at various times and so we decided to nix gifts for the adults and instead of trying to cram one more thing in between now and Christmas, after the first of the year we’ll go out to dinner together and just have fun being with one another. I was just telling my kids this morning on the way to school, before reading this post, that we have the best present ever to open every day the gift of Jesus! What a reminder as I get ready to have a pretty busy schedule over the next few days. Thank you Renee for reminding us that we don’t have to set such high expectations for ourselves and to just spend time with the Lord enjoying Him this Christmas!
I’m going to give grace to me by not to participate in any group to perform at Christmas event held at church
on 23 this year, which is national holiday in my country. Rather than making myself busy for practicing, I will slow down and allow myself to rest. Thank you so much for your message, Renee!
Because I’m not working right now I’ve been able to focus more on my relationship with God. I plan on continuing even when the kids are home from school. I’m also looking forward to my daughter coming in on leave from the Navy for Christmas but I’m not going to stress over it…just enjoy her company. 🙂
I am re-discovering myself, my home and my heart. I have let myself go this year and I am tired of living in the dark. I have just recently stumbled upon Proverbs 31 and I am loving it!
thank you for your Prayer to The Lord! this Christmas through all of our trials, I am growing in The Lord, leaning on Him with all of my Heart. Trusting in HIM and not myself. He Loves me so. My family and I are apart from each other however what we are going through had to pass through my Fathers hands before it came to me. I am thankful to The Lord for His Favor, His Grace, Most of all His Mercy and Forgivness, and The Special Way He has been providing for me and my family, I am grateful to Him. but I do fail when it comes to spending quality time with HIm, making it very difficult for me to hear from Him. I end of falling asleep on Him without spending the time i want and need to spend with HIM. I also am waiting on THe Lord to bring my husband safely home to be with us,and give us a second chance , in His time according to His Perfect Will. I will be sharing this devotion with my 2 very special sisters. I am truly blessed for my sisters, mom and my brothers, family and all friends. i am truly grateful to THe Lord. Merry Christmas Renee to you and All of YOur Family! God Bless you.
We’re doing children’s decorations this year. instead of stressing that they will break a precious family treasure, i’m leaving those in the boxes and covering our tree with things they’ve made. they love it and so do i! plus it’s less pressure to look ‘perfect’!
GRACE. Such a big word. Such a needed word. I need grace everyday. Most of the time I feel so unworthy of the grace that I know God has in store for me. I am the mother of 7 children. 5 girls (4 of them teenagers) and 2 boys. 2 of which have birthdays the week before Christmas. I feel like I’ve been washed and hung out to dry by the end of most days. This year I decided to do things a touch different (I guess you could say this was me giving myself grace). Our church has 3 gatherings this month, we have 2 birthdays, our company dinner all requiring me to make and bake food, plus some other visits that has pulled my stress string till its taut. So, I decided to stop and tackle each gathering separately. Not to stress if the cake was a touch sideways, or if I forgot a 2-liter. God has made himself more real to me this year than ever. I’ve been teaching my 4 year old boy about what it means to give gifts and why we do this. He knows about Jesus, even that He died on the cross. So, I wanted to add this to his store of knowledge. I don’t know where I’d be if God didn’t give me new grace everyday. He is so awesome that way. Thank you for the video and the words of encouragement.
I am passing this on to my 2 oldest children, and then also to my sister and mother.They will enjoy this.
I was just thinking yesterday that it just doesn’t feel like Christmas to me. Your video and devotional helped me remember that without Jesus, it really isn’t Christmas. I will show myself grace by not worrying that things may not be how they usually are each year but that what is important is and will always be the same… Jesus! Thanks Renee.
Thanks for the encouragement and grace. I too try to put many expectations on myself. I am trying to show myself grace this month by asking God for HIS plans for each day. My to-do list is far too long and my time and energy short. I am only going to attempt to accomplish the things that God lays on my heart each morning and trust in Him for the power to do those things. I don’t really know what my Christmas or gifts or home are going to end up LOOKING like, but I know I will FEEL peaceful with the knowledge that I have obeyed and pleased my Savior. 1 Sa 16:7b “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
God brought me on a long journey with Christmas…I must admit…I swung the pendulum out to the edges…but He has now brought a gentle swing…and I have come to realize… I can’t hammer down…and proclaim…this is it…this is how I will celebrate…because life is fluid…and so must my traditions…
Grace………. He gives so abundantly, so richly, and so freely.
I am going to remind myself, every time I have that, “I’m in over my head” feeling, to take a deep breath and remember His promises to take my burdens.
If we deeply breath in His grace, we’ll be able to give it to others.
Thanks for the reminder. 🙂
Thank you for the devotional. Just what this weary heart needs. In the midst of the holiday bustle I will have surgery, our families christmas, his families christmas and my families christmas – whew!! I have yet to buy a present and feel totally unprepared this year. I have longed for Jesus to be the center of our Christmas. For a while now I have been trying to find ways to keep his presence first and foremost; its tough though, usually what I end up feeling though is lacking in Grace instead of abounding in Love. I look forward to your study at the beginning of the year. Have a very blessed and merry Christmas!
I am trying to slow down this year & enjoy each moment such as, watching Christmas movies, enjoying the sights & sounds of Christmas etc.. I’m not even half way done with my shopping yet, but I’m not stressing. Instead, I’m praying & asking God to help me each step of the way!
Merry Christmas,
Janet W.