“Blessing for the New Day”

from Comfort & Joy: Readings and Practices for Advent (Herald Press, 2024)

Breathe deeply of
the precipitous air

Unfurl your shoulders
turn your face toward the rising sun

Allow the crisp morning air
to fill your lungs

Savor the quiet
moment

Gather what you need to
face the new day

-by Sherah-Leigh Gerber

Consider an Advent devotional as a gentle companion through the month of December.

You may want to check out Comfort & Joy: Readings and Practices for Advent, a nontraditional devotional that includes recipes, practices, reflections and prompts to help you connect with what really matters (to you) in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.

If you or someone you know is dreading this Christmas, navigating an unchosen journey or difficult circumstances, Unhappy Holidays: Blessings for a Blue Christmas is a daily devotional for the month of December offering reflections and blessing for those looking to recover a sense of hope.

We hope this brings you some comfort and joy! You can spread the joy by liking, commenting and sharing this post with others.

Some Comfort and Joy was developed as a devotional resource that follows the rhythms and seasons of the liturgical year from an Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective.

The chaos of thresholds…

from Unhappy Holidays: Blessings for a Blue Christmas (Herald Press, 2025).

Thresholds are times pregnant with possibility and rife with uncertainty. Sometimes they are welcomed, even chosen, but sometimes we
are forced to stand on the ledge and face the murkiness of the unknown.


Advent is a threshold season. The stretch between Thanksgiving (in
the United States) and Christmas is a space of waiting. Thresholds can be exciting as one anticipates something new, a fresh start or a change
in course, but thresholds can also test us. They test the strength of our courage to move forward, to make a change, or to charge into something new
and unknown. Our desire for control is revealed. There is only so much
discomfort we can tolerate. Do we trust in the unfolding? And just
how long must we wait for the new thing?


Whether in chaos or with longing, with a heart of eager anticipation
or a soul heavy with dread, there are gifts and blessings to nurture and
sustain your soul within this season of anticipation. The threshold of
Advent is an invitation to step into a place of hope, where we believe
that transformation is always possible and claim the promise of the
already-and-not-yet reality of God’s reign: things will not always be
this way.

We hope this brings you some comfort and joy! You can spread the joy by liking, commenting and sharing this post with others.

Some Comfort and Joy was developed as a devotional resource that follows the rhythms and seasons of the liturgical year from an Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective.

“Releasing Expectations”

from Comfort & Joy: Readings and Practices for Advent (Herald Press, 2025)

Spend some time reflecting on your own expectations for the holiday season. Since Advent can be especially busy, finding time for reflection might be challenging. However, carving out at least one time during the week when you can be alone and quiet is a meaningful spiritual practice, no matter what your schedule entails or your personality inclines you to prefer.

Before you reflect, take a few deep breaths and settle your body. When you are focused, think or journal about the following questions:

  • What are you expecting from yourself this Advent and Christmas?
  • What plans for holiday fun are realistic, and what might be better released either to be pursued in another stage of life or set aside permanently as not worth the time and effort?
  • Which expectations are ones you can and want to fulfill?
  • What (perhaps unrealized) expectations do you have of your family and friends for the holiday season?
  • Have you ever been surprised by an unexpected blessing? What was it? Retell the story in your journal or to a friend to solidify the memory.

Now that you have spent time considering the hopes and expectations you are carrying, invite God’s presence into your planning. Consider the people and situations that are difficult for you. Imagine placing them into God’s loving embrace. Invite God’s grace to be your companion in these days of preparation and anticipation.

Consider an Advent devotional as a gentle companion through the month of December.

You may want to check out Comfort & Joy: Readings and Practices for Advent, a nontraditional devotional that includes recipes, practices, reflections and prompts to help you connect with what really matters (to you) in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.

If you or someone you know is dreading this Christmas, navigating an unchosen journey or difficult circumstances, Unhappy Holidays: Blessings for a Blue Christmas is a daily devotional for the month of December offering reflections and blessing for those looking to recover a sense of hope.

We hope this brings you some comfort and joy! You can spread the joy by liking, commenting and sharing this post with others.

Some Comfort and Joy was developed as a devotional resource that follows the rhythms and seasons of the liturgical year from an Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective.

The Chaos of Thresholds

from Unhappy Holidays: Blessings for a Blue Christmas (Herald Press, 2025).

The act of blessing is a way of recognizing sacredness. It is a way of inviting God into all that is unfolding, into our experience both in pain and petition.

The words of invocation are offerings of care and courage for you as you navigate all that the Advent season holds. The blessings are an offering of words for when you may not have them. These are my prayers for you, a claim of hope in the bleak midwinter. Each blessing is a recognition that all parts of our lives have a place in God’s story.

Blessing for the chaos of thresholds

May you dare to hope

when you find yourself in darkness

staring down into the deep,

facing the swirl of chaos.

May you have the courage to step up

to the precipice, a threshold—

to teeter on the edge.

May you dare to hope

when you feel the sweep of the Wind,

hear the whisper of the Divine,

notice the pinprick of Light.

May you have the patience to

sit in the before, on the threshold—

holding on through the not-quite-yet.

May you dare to hope.

For in the

wind and wave,

darkness and light,

chaos and order,

God has come.

And,

God is not done.

We hope this brings you some comfort and joy! You can spread the joy by liking, commenting and sharing this post with others.

Some Comfort and Joy was developed as a devotional resource that follows the rhythms and seasons of the liturgical year from an Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective.

“Preparation”

from Comfort & Joy: Readings and Praces for Advent, Herald Press, 2024.

Preparation, then, is the perfect focus for this first week of reflections and practices. In Advent we prepare our hearts so that the outward signs of the season become acts of kindness and creativity instead of a frustrating list of seasonal to-dos. We can make room in our lives so that when Christ arrives, we are ready to notice and celebrate.

We’ll mess up and try again. Mistakes and fresh starts are allowed! I am reminded that it is good to prepare—not just our calendars, but also our hearts—for this season of spiritual waiting and watching for God’s work in our lives.

Rushing from one activity to the next will not get you where you want to be in these coming weeks. Give yourself permission to open your heart to the movement of God’s Spirit, especially if you feel nudged toward something that isn’t on the list. May you prepare yourself so that holy, unexpected experiences will blossom in your home this Advent and Christmas.

We hope this brings you some comfort and joy! You can spread the joy by liking, commenting and sharing this post with others.

Some Comfort and Joy was developed as a devotional resource that follows the rhythms and seasons of the liturgical year from an Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective.

If you or someone you know is dreading this Christmas, navigating an unchosen journey or difficult circumstances, Unhappy Holidays: Blessings for a Blue Christmas is a daily devotional for the month of December offering reflections and blessing for those looking to recover a sense of hope.

You may want to check out Comfort & Joy: Readings and Practices for Advent, a nontraditional devotional that includes recipes, practices, reflections and prompts to help you connect with what really matters (to you) in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.

It’s the Holiday Season…

While Advent is still 19 days away, the first signs of snow in my area make it feel like the holiday season is upon us! And there is no doubt that the swirl of activities, opportunities (and stressors) that come with the holiday season are here. For some of us, it is a wonderful time of year as we make our plans and preparations for gatherings in the coming weeks. For others, this may be sad or dreadful stretch of weeks with overwhelm or loneliness.

But no matter how you are approaching Advent this year, there is good news. The words of scripture, written long ago, demonstrate again and again that God is at work. God is present. God is always surprising God’s people by moving and making something new. 

In the midst of a weary world and fragile hope, we come to this season of preparation and celebration to be reminded of this truth. We engage these reflective practices so we, too, can notice anew that God is with us, in the beauty of the ordinary and in the sacred extraordinary of Advent and Christmastide. 

Methods for spiritual reflection and practice are as varied as we are as individuals. There are many ways to commune with God in our daily lives and we hope  you will find a point of connection through our variety of invitations we offer in the coming weeks.

Consider an Advent devotional as a gentle companion through the month of December.

You may want to check out Comfort & Joy: Readings and Practices for Advent, a nontraditional devotional that includes recipes, practices, reflections and prompts to help you connect with what really matters (to you) in the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.

If you or someone you know is dreading this Christmas, navigating an unchosen journey or difficult circumstances, Unhappy Holidays: Blessings for a Blue Christmas is a daily devotional for the month of December offering reflections and blessing for those looking to recover a sense of hope.

We hope this brings you some comfort and joy! You can spread the joy by liking, commenting and sharing this post with others.

Some Comfort and Joy was developed as a devotional resource that follows the rhythms and seasons of the liturgical year from an Anabaptist-Mennonite perspective.

And the winner is…

Congratulations to Maria, who can choose from this selection of custom mugs that Melinda Yoder of Muddy Creek Ceramics designed for the launch of Unhappy Holidays: Blessings for a Blue Christmas.

We are so grateful for our Some Comfort & Joy community. Thank you for your kind comments, likes and shares which help others find us in our little corner of the internet.

As we move into the holiday season, we will be sharing encouragement and practices that can help you connect with some comfort and joy throughout the coming weeks.

And if you are looking for an Advent devotional to use throughout the month of December, you can still get copies of Comfort & Joy: Readings and Practices for Advent. This non-traditional devotional includes poetry, recipes, practices and prompts focused on the traditional themes of love, joy, hope and peace.

We pray that you will sense the nearness of God in these days.

Blessing (& Giveaway)

Blessing for the dawn*

On the wild edge,

on the threshold,

when you are unsure, longing, and vulnerable

may you be held with love

In the distress,

In the defeat,

When you find that you dwell in the dust

may you find the hidden place of peace

In the long night,

in the holding vigil,

when you are betting on daylight:

may you awake to joy

*This blessing comes from Unhappy Holidays: Blessings for a Blue Christmas, Sherah-Leigh’s newly released Advent devotional. 

As we move into the holiday season, we’re hosting a giveaway! Leave a comment on this post by midnight on Wednesday, November 5, 2025, and you will be eligible to win a signed copy of Unhappy Holidays along with a custom mug created by our friend at Muddy Creek Ceramics. 

We often think of the Christmas season as a time of good cheer, but what happens when the reality of life stands in stark contrast to these expectations? When the nest is empty or family relationships are strained? Cancer diagnoses, divorce proceedings, and natural disasters do not care about calendar time. How do we live into the spirit of Christmas when things feel bleak?

With thoughtful reflections and compassionate blessings drawn from the familiar biblical texts of Advent, Unhappy Holidays invites readers to recover a sense of hope and notice how God shows up in daily life amid our heartache, grief, and loss.

Now available for purchase here!

 We hope that this has brought you some comfort and joy. If this has been meaningful for you please like, comment or share this with others. 


And in case you missed it, we wrote a book! Comfort and Joy: Readings and Practices for Advent may be a wonderful companion for you this holiday season.

Joy: Practicing Wholeness (Luke 8:48)

“Jesus said, ‘Daughter, you took a risk trusting me, and now you’re healed and whole. Live well, live blessed!’” -Luke 8:48

If you didn’t get a chance to read Sherah-Leigh’s reflection on Monday take a moment to do that now!

Take time this week to journal or think about your hopes for healing and comfort.

Where would you like to experience wholeness? In what area of your life might it take courage to name the comfort and healing you seek?

After taking time to journal about your own self-care, imagine courageously reaching out to Jesus. What fears hold you back from reaching out in hope? 

If a phrase or idea comes to mind that is helpful, write it down and refer to it this week and this month.  Alternatively, copy the verse from today,”Live well, live blessed!”, and post it where you will read it frequently. 

Of course, healing can come in many forms. It might be as simple as admitting you need to keep your doctor’s appointment! So be alert . . .what will “Live well, live blessed.” mean for you?

We hope that this has brought you some comfort and joy. If this has been meaningful for you please like, comment or share this with others. 

And in case you missed it, we wrote a book! Comfort and Joy: Readings and Practices for Advent may be a wonderful companion for you this holiday season. If you are looking for something new, Unhappy Holidays: Blessings for a Blue Christmas is a newly released Advent devotional written by Sherah-Leigh as a gentle guide for those dreading the coming weeks.

Comfort: The Courage to Seek (Luke 8:48)

“Jesus said, ‘Daughter, you took a risk trusting me, and now you’re healed and whole. Live well, live blessed!’” -Luke 8:48

With the setting sun as backdrop, I gathered with my book club. Over brie and chocolate dipped cherries, we shared about what we had read throughout the summer, offering recommendations and adding to our to-be-read lists.

A friend’s upcoming inn-to-inn sojourn in the English countryside called to mind a book I listened to purporting the life-changing benefits of discomfort. As I reflected on the things I disliked and takeaways I appreciated, I noted that inhabiting a female body means routinely being in touch with discomfort. The mental load, changing hormones, monthly cycles, micro (and not so micro) aggressions or glass ceilings– discomfort comes into our lives in many forms. 

Our desire for comfort can be problematic. At times we resist change because of the discomfort of the unknown. Capitalism capitalizes on our troubles offering products, fixes and escapes (for a fee, of course). Sometimes, we may inadvertently rebrand self-comfort as self-care justifying extravagance, expense or escapism. 

But seeking relief and comfort can also be a spiritual discipline. It takes courage to hold out hope for healing. It is a risk to ask for what we need. Others may confuse our self-honoring for selfishness. Being honest before God about our aches, longings and needs requires bravery. 


The account of Jesus healing the woman with chronic bleeding reminds us that seeking relief from our pain requires something from us. Seeking wholeness and well-being may feel risky. It requires tenacity and courage. And yet, like the woman who experienced healing, the pursuit of the comfort of true home- connection and settledness with God- is met with blessing. 

Bless my risks, Jesus. Meet my courage with comfort. May I continue to trust in you for shalom in all things. Amen. 

 We hope that this has brought you some comfort and joy. If this has been meaningful for you please like, comment or share this with others. 


And in case you missed it, we wrote a book! Comfort and Joy: Readings and Practices for Advent may be a wonderful companion for you this holiday season. If you are looking for something new, Unhappy Holidays: Blessings for a Blue Christmas is a newly released Advent devotional written by Sherah-Leigh as a gentle guide for those dreading the coming weeks.