223: "Experiencing a Thrill of Hope This Advent" with Chelsey DeMatteis

*One little housekeeping note: GarageBand, the platform we use to bring together the intro, interview file, and outro to produce each episode, was not allowing me to import this week’s interview file for some reason. So, unfortunately, all I could do was upload the interview itself here to Substack, without an official intro or outro like we usually have. But you’re really just here to hear from our guest today, anyway, so hopefully that’ll be ok. I appreciate your understanding and am praying GarageBand works for me next time!

Chelsey DeMatteis is a wife, mom of two, podcast host, and author of two books, most recently the new Advent devotional, “A Thrill of Hope”. She is passionate about writing and speaking about Jesus and His life-changing truths. Today she comes on the show to share more about her Advent devotional and to encourage us with a message of the hope and light that are to be found in Christ.

What We Chat About on This Episode:

~Chelsey’s new devotional book, A Thrill of Hope, what led her to write it, and what readers can expect

~How the book is set up

~Living with the hope of heaven in the midst of life’s darkest and hardest seasons

~Jesus as our living Hope

~The metanarrative of Scripture and pictures of Christ that we see in the OT; why those are so important to see

~The redemption power of God to take the hard seasons of loss and transform them into something beauty can come from

~The light of Jesus and how it ministers to our hearts in life’s darkest moments

~The power of hope and holding onto it even when it’s hard

~Remembering the truths of Advent all year long

~The plague of darkness in Exodus and how God continued to give His people light in that time; what that means for us today

~How Jesus shows up for each of us in unique ways that mean something special to each of us

~A particular day of the devotional that is extra special to Chelsey

~Advent as a season of invitation to go deeper with Jesus and to share Him with others

~Being the hands and feet of Jesus this season

~What Chelsey’s hope for this Advent book is

~The burden of chasing the ‘perfect’ aesthetic this Advent and making the choice instead to chase after Christ, where true worth, peace, and joy are found

~And more!

Inspiring Quotes to Remember:

“Hope, as a believer, is an action. It is literally Jesus in action in my life. Not necessarily me going and doing for the Lord, but the Lord breathing life into me as I place my hope in Him. He is my hope.”

“Whatever it is we are going through, it is always His light that will be able to pull us through. If we do not bury our heads and instead look for His light, we will see such beauty He is bringing in the midst of the hard.”

“Hope it what gets us out of bed when things are terrible.”

“We need the beautiful, life-giving, joy-filled truths of Advent all year long.”

“While Egypt was under the plague of darkness for three days, God continued to give His people light. He led them by light, sustained them in light to foreshadow what Christ would come to do years later.”

“Even when we feel like we are in captivity, the Lord’s light is still over my life and literally inside me - I can carry that light with me wherever I go.”

“If we just hunker down in Luke 2 during the Advent season and instead trace the light of God from the very beginning all the way to what is coming at the end, it is amazing to see how God shows up through His light and leading people that way. Seeing the big picture perspective during Advent makes it so much more powerful.”

“Jesus shows up in our lives in unique ways that mean something special to us individually.”

“Advent is not only an invitation for us to go deeper ourselves with the Lord, but also an invitation to notice others, pray for them and love them well, and be the hands and feet of Jesus to them, inviting the light to piece the darkness in their lives. The season of Advent is perfect for that.. It is a season of invitation to go deeper with Jesus and to share Jesus with others.”

“Hope has come. Invite people to know that.”

“There is no better news to share with others. If we are ready and willing, with our hands open, to deliver a meal, to listen, to pray for someone, to love them tangibly, then we can share the light of Christ with them this Advent.”

“Stop chasing the ‘perfect’ aesthetic this Advent. Chase after the Reason for Advent instead. Feel that burden fall off and find your worth and hope in the Lord. A deeper joy and real peace are found there.”

“It’s ok to love beauty this Advent. But don’t love it more than Who we’re celebrating.”

Resources Mentioned:

A Thrill of Hope

More of Him, Less of Me

The Matheny Manifesto: A Young Manager's Old-School Views on Success in Sports and Life by Mike Matheny

Fruitful: Cultivating a Spiritual Harvest That Won't Leave You Empty

Love Lives Here: Finding What You Need in a World Telling You What You Want by Maria Goff

Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World of Setbacks and Difficult People by Bob Goff

The Dream Giver by Bruce Wilkerson

Where You Can Find Chelsey:

Website: Chelsey DeMatteis

Instagram: @chelseydematteis

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