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Speaker 1: Life Audio.

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Speaker 2: Welcome to the Crosswalk devotional. We are so thankful to

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Speaker 2: have you listening with us here today. Today's topic is

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Speaker 2: when Christmas doesn't feel quite right. We will return after

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Speaker 2: a brief message from our sponsor. When Christmas doesn't feel

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Speaker 2: merry and bright written by Vivian Bricker, read by Rochelle

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Speaker 2: Alberti Bible Reading. But when the set time had fully come,

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Speaker 2: God sent his son, born of a woman, born under

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Speaker 2: the law, to redeem those under the law, that we

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Speaker 2: might receive adoption to sonship Galatians four four through five.

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Speaker 2: Christmas can feel difficult for many reasons. Perhaps you're unable

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Speaker 2: to afford presents for your children, or you might be

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Speaker 2: facing your first Christmas without a loved one. Regardless of

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Speaker 2: what we are going through, when Christmas approaches, we need

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Speaker 2: to remember that God doesn't expect us to be merry

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Speaker 2: and bright just because it is the norm. He wants

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Speaker 2: us to be genuine in our emotions and not afraid

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Speaker 2: to reach out to Him. I love Christmas because it's

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Speaker 2: the day we get to celebrate the Lord's birth. Yet

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Speaker 2: I cannot run from the fact that I miss my

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Speaker 2: mom terribly on this day. My mother also loved Christmas

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Speaker 2: and always ensured it was a fun holiday celebration. Without

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Speaker 2: her being here, it feels empty. These struggles can be

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Speaker 2: really painful, especially around the holidays when we're expected to

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Speaker 2: be joyful. But it is better to address our feels

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Speaker 2: rather than to run from them. For far too long,

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Speaker 2: I had the habit of running from my pain. Maybe

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Speaker 2: this is what you are going through this Christmas as well.

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Speaker 3: A loved one passed away and you are feeling anything

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Speaker 3: but merry and bright. Or maybe you and your spouse

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Speaker 3: are going through a divorce, or a child as having

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Speaker 3: a tough time at schooal, or God laid off from

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Speaker 3: your job rather than the Christmas bonents you were counting on.

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Speaker 3: Regardless of what you are going through, know that God

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Speaker 3: doesn't condemn you for struggling this Christmas. In fact, bring

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Speaker 3: all of your troubles to Him and allow His grace

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Speaker 3: to strengthen you. Intersecting faith and life, the apostle Paul

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Speaker 3: tells us, but when the said time had fully come,

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Speaker 3: God sent his son, born of a woman, born under

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Speaker 3: the law, to redeem those under the law, that we

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Speaker 3: might receive adoption to sonship. Galatians for four through five.

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Speaker 3: This is the message of Christmas. Jesus was sent into

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Speaker 3: the world to redeem us and bring us into his family.

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Speaker 3: Even though we are facing hardships this Christmas, we can

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Speaker 3: still celebrate the Lord with our weary hearts. He will

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Speaker 3: transform our weary hearts into his hearts of steadfastness, strength,

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Speaker 3: and hope. Reflect upon Galatians four four through five, and

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Speaker 3: take notice of what it means to you this Christmas.

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Speaker 3: Because of the Lord, everything will be made right one day.

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Speaker 3: We won't have to deal with pain, agony, or hard

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Speaker 3: times forever. The day is coming when all things will

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Speaker 3: be made new. The death of loved ones, the ending

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Speaker 3: of marriages, the betrayal of friends will be things of

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Speaker 3: the past. Look forward to the date and it will

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Speaker 3: engulf your heart with peace. Jesus was born into the

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Speaker 3: world to save us and bring them us to him.

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Speaker 3: With this truth in our hearts, we can truly shine

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Speaker 3: bright for Jesus. This Christmas is Christmas? Not feeling very

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Speaker 3: and bright this year? How can you bring these feelings

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Speaker 3: to Jesus. Reflect upon Galatians four four through five and

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Speaker 3: how it applies to you this Christmus. What are your

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Speaker 3: key takeaways? Further reading Psalm one hundred and forty five,

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Speaker 3: verses eight through thirteen, Luke two, verse eleven, one Peter five,

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Speaker 3: verse seven.

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Speaker 1: The Crosswalk Devotional is a production of Life Audio and

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Speaker 1: Salem Media. If you liked what you heard today, please

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Speaker 1: can find the show. For more faith filled inspirational podcasts,

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Speaker 1: visit us at lifeaudio dot com.

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Speaker 2: You see you were reading