A Macy’s commercial shows animated children rushing across a storeroom floor to a giant red mailbox. They stand on each others’ backs to stuff their letters to Santa into the mail slot, believing if Santa reads their letters, they will receive their Christmas wishes. The commercial ends with this tagline: ”Together, we’ll connect a million reasons to believe.”
During our church’s ladies Christmas luncheon, my friend Kathy spoke about Belief versus Hope. She said, “When we hope for something, we look forward with desire and reasonable confidence. When we believe, we are confident and have faith in something. Jesus is the Gift of Hope for all mankind. Once you accept Him, move beyond hope and into belief to show others who Jesus is. You may be the only Bible someone reads.”
With the secularism of the Christmas holiday, so many have lost sight of the true reason of the season: the birth of Jesus. Imagine if Santa wasn’t in the picture and all of those people focused on Jesus—the true reason to Believe. Santa is a fictional character (sorry, if you still believe), who exemplifies innocence and good character. Jesus is real and perfect and models how we are supposed to live our lives.
Believe is used at least 289 times in the Bible. This does not include various forms of the word. As I stated at the beginning of 2011, “When we believe in God’s promises, believe in ourselves and believe in the power of our dreams, we will be amazed by the abundance of blessings that come our way.”
John 3:16 reminds us of the best gift: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
I’m so thankful for that gift because without Jesus, I wouldn’t be the person I am today. I’m thankful God loved a sinner like me to send His son to take my place on the cross.
Macy’s may offer a million reasons to believe, but we need just one—Jesus.
This terrific e-zine would not have happened without the help of the exceptional staff and supplemental writers. So allow me to close by thanking those involved in putting this e-zine together:
- Book Therapists, Susan May Warren and Rachel Hauck.
- Voices Staff:
- Reba J. Hoffman, Team Member Care Coach, prayer coordinator.
- Beth K. Vogt, copy editor, Skills Coach.
- Edie Melson, assistant copy editor, Social Media Coach.
- Amy Lindberg, assistant copy editor, Flash Fiction coordinator.
- Roxanne Sherwood, assistant copy editor.
- Vicki McCollumn, assistant copy editor.
- Jennie Atkins, Let’s Shout it Out coordinator.
- Carrie Fancett Pagels, Journey With the Voices coordinator, Featured Fiction coordinator.
- Patricia Woodside, Ask the Therapist coordinator, Meet the Voices/ What’s Your Story? coordinator.
- Melissa Tagg, Finding the Funny columnist, Marketing Coordinator
- Teri Dawn Smith, Consulting with the Specialists coordinator.
- Michelle Lim, Genre Java coordinator, Brainstorming/Huddles Coach
- Alena Taurianen, Writing & Wellness columnist, Retreat Hostess
Additional Articles:
- Jessica R. Patch, “Embarrassing Moments: Fodder For Humor in Fiction”
My Book Therapy (MBT) has over 1000 members and grows daily. Members receive an abundance of resources to help them further their craft. Here’s a glimpse:
- My Book Therapy Blog –Topics covered include On the Edge — Suspense and Special Teams Blogs: editing, marketing and social networking.
- Club Voices – Forums where you can ask questions and learn from other Voices.
- Monday Night Chats – Free workshops where the MBT Coaching Staff encourage and teach the MBT Voices.
- Voices E-zine – For the Voices by the Voices. Your place to share your writing and to build your platform.
- Storycrafting Retreats – An incredible experience where you will learn to take your writing to the next level.
- The Frasier Writing Contest – Personalized feedback and fantastic prizes to continue to help writers hone their story crafting skills.
- Annual MBT Pizza Party — A not-to-be-missed annual event at the ACFW conference.
- Personalize your own Club Voices page with a blog, comment wall and photos.
Whether you’re a new writer learning the basics or an established, published author, get involved and meet others who are finding their way in the writing world too. At MBT, you are not alone in your journey. Be part of the writing community where Every Voice Counts!
Your Voices Editor-in-Chief,
