Worthy. Whole. Woman.

🪻The manger was God’s “I’m with you.

📖Scripture

John 1:14 (NIV)

“The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us…”

✨Devotional Thought

Love has always been God’s language—but in Jesus, love became visible, tangible, reachable. He didn’t love us from a distance. He stepped into our world, wrapped Himself in humanity, and, as one translation puts it, “moved into the neighborhood.”

That manger wasn’t just a holy night.
It was God’s declaration: “I am with you.”

As the year comes to a close and a new one opens, we’re invited to step into a fresh understanding of what that nearness means. Not just that God loves us, but that His love is present, active, healing, and leading us forward.

Loved people walk differently.
Loved people breathe differently.
Loved people become love to others.

Let this closing week of the year gently sweep away narratives that no longer serve you—old fears, hardened places, worn-out self-talk, or stories you’ve carried too long. When Love came near, He came to rewrite what shame, disappointment, and exhaustion tried to author.

As you prepare for the new year, allow His incarnate love to shape your posture:

• Love restores what was broken.
• Love strengthens what felt weak.
• Love softens what grew guarded.
• Love clarifies what felt confusing.
• Love sends you forward with purpose.

The same God who stepped into Bethlehem is stepping into your January.

You are not going into the new year alone.
You are going in loved—deeply, wholly, faithfully loved.

And loved people love people.

✍🏽Challenge

Set aside 15 quiet minutes before January 1. Light a candle, breathe, and sit with God.

Reflect prayerfully:

1. Where did I notice Your love this year?
   (Moments of comfort, provision, conviction, joy, or unexpected help.)
2. Where did I resist Your love?
   (Times I held on to fear, control, comparison, or old wounds.)
3. How will I practice love in the first 30 days of the new year—toward You, myself, and others?
   Write one concrete step for each category. Keep your list somewhere visible: a journal, your mirror, or your phone wallpaper.

This is your first act of love for the new year:
to lean into God’s nearness with intention.

🙏🏽Prayer

Emmanuel, thank You for dwelling with me. Thank You that love came near and still comes near. As I enter a new year, root me in a love that is bold, forgiving, and whole. Shape my thoughts, words, and footsteps by Your presence. Help me love You Lord, thank You for bringing me through every season. Prepare my heart for the new thing You’re doing, and help me walk into what’s next with faith, peace, and purpose. Amen.