Mary Geisen's Blog

Jesus is the Light of the World. We say it. We sing it. Then we read it, and we proclaim it to others.

During the winter, I am more likely to reflect on the truth that Jesus is the light. Now that we have entered the season of Lent, my thoughts drift toward the dichotomy of light and dark that we read about in Scripture.

God sent His only Son, Jesus, to be the light for His people. The world was fraught with division, heartache, and chaos. What looked like darkness to many became...

It looked like any other Tuesday. I sat in my favorite spot on the couch with my Bible, the first cup of coffee for the day, my journal, and I invited God into my day. An hour later I went to my favorite coffee shop to do some writing before I gathered with a new group of ladies. 

It was at the coffee shop where everything changed. On that day last Fall, the four of us embarked on a heart connection with each other. When we began an even deeper heart connection with God.

Since ...

The Light never fails to shine through the darkness– Light that darkness could not overcome! These words from John 1:5 shine like a beacon for my weary soul. I sit up straighter and lean in to read them again.

The Light never fails to shine through the darkness. The Light that entered my heart as a baby, and again in my forties, and every day since shatters any darkness that threatens my very being. It was a Light that first arrived into the universe as a newborn to two teenagers...

Arise, shine, for your light has come,

and the glory of the Lord shines over you.

For look, darkness covers the earth,

and total darkness the peoples;

but the Lord will shine over you,

and His glory will appear over you.

Nations will come to your light,

and kings to the brightness of your radiance. Isaiah 60:1-3, CSB

Today is Christmas Eve and the fourth Sunday of Advent. The season does not always end like this, but I find it fitting since we are discussing p...

We strive for an Emmanuel hope that God is with us. Our lives and the places surrounding us are covered in darkness, filled with grief-laden moments that leave us to believe our broken hearts will never heal. But many years ago, Hope was born and His name is Jesus. Mary Geisen, The Advent Narrative

As a young girl, I often expressed a giddiness over the upcoming Christmas holiday. I placed my hope in the joy that was to come. This anticipation of hope was based on the presents tha...

“Hope is hope because of faith, because of a trust that believes something good is on the horizon. Light is on the way.” Shadow and Light by Tsh Oxenreider

In this second week and every week of our lives, we are preparing our hearts for hope. We learn through the birth of Jesus that He is the hope we are waiting for during Advent. 

It is a hope that secures us to Jesus, anchors our souls, and instills trust in us that something good is on the way.

Jesus was born on a night l...

I stood mesmerized by the flame that flickered and cast shadows on the walls of our kitchen. My family was gathered around the table and dinner was about to begin. I didn’t know, what I didn’t know. It wasn’t until I was an adult I discovered that I was searching for hope. 

On this particular day, we were celebrating the first Sunday of Advent. My dad lit a purple candle that filled one indentation in the wreath adorned with plastic greenery. He read a prayer out loud in solemn tones....

The beginning of a journey is always uncertain but with uncertainty comes hope. ~Lisa Wingate from Tending Roses

The journey begins now. The calendar will soon say December 3. My heart taps slowly, “It’s the life you are living now.” I have already begun, while my heart is still catching up.

Jesus arrived without fanfare two thousand years ago. His birth was THE arrival. The one that the people of the day were waiting for and believed in until He came to earth as a baby. But did t...

Today my friend Julie Lefebure is here to share about her new book, Right Now Matters: Empowering Right Now Women in a Culture of Distraction.

Julie and I have known each other for years, crossing paths at Five Minute Friday, on social media, and all the places. She is a gifted writer who is sharing a part of her story below.

The moment changed my life. It woke me up to the reality of how right now matters.

Sitting in the stands in my orange and black school colors, I ...

I stood in the middle of the elementary school gym. Students lined up on either side of a tug-of-war rope waiting for me. I quickly grabbed the rope positioning myself at the end.

A whistle blew and I jerked back to reality. The rope almost slipped from my hands as the pulling began. The motion of pulling and pushing as I tried to anchor myself for the team brings to mind my current season.

This memory of tug-of-war draws me into the present and my summer of waiting. Without a...