Luke 1:28

Dear First name / friend,

Today is the Feast of the Annunciation, a little break from the season of Lent to celebrate Gabriel's appearance to Mary. The annunciation is celebrated on March 25th because it is nine months from December 25th – the birth of Jesus!

 

The early church didn't necessarily believe Jesus was conceived on this exact date; it's simply a date to commemorate the event. This morning I read Luke 1 to my children as we ate homemade waffles and whip cream. I asked my daughters: “How do you think Mary felt when Gabriel told her what would happen?”

 

“Probably afraid," said one. 

“Probably nervous,” said another. She continued, “Mary trusted God more than Zechariah did, though! He doubted.” 

 

I'd forgotten this important parallel. Zechariah, a priest qualified to serve in the holiest place, disbelieves God's promise that his wife Elizabeth will bear a son. More than that, he argues with God. He has the gumption to tell the angel God's promise can't come to pass! This is an educated man, a man with enough biblical knowledge to bring to mind Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel and Hannah, the host of barren women in Scripture who miraculously conceive. But to Zechariah, these stories became little more than distant myths. God was faithful before, but He would not do it again; not for him.

 

But Mary believed. She was confused, yes. She was afraid. But her response was not doubt or argument; it was faith. “I am the Lord's servant… may your word to me be fulfilled.” 

 

With a heart marked by humility and a posture of open hands, Mary accepted God's call. She laid down her life so Jesus could enter our world. Jesus would lay down His life so the world could enter eternity. How could Mary say “yes” with so much at stake? Two reasons: She was highly favored (graced), and the Lord was with her. 

 

How can we say “yes” to God when the cost is great? 

 

Remember that we too are highly favored, and the Lord is with us. 

 

God's favor is His grace. The famous prayer based on this passage says, “Hail Mary, full of grace.” This is just another way of saying “highly favored”. Any Christian abiding in the power and presence of Christ is likewise “full of grace”. This is the gift o the gospel! We receive the grace, the FAVOR, of Christ on the cross, enabling us to do what we could not do on our own. Personally, using the word “favor” (rather than grace) helps me grasp the approval and love of God. 

 

Secondly, the Lord is with us. He does not leave or forsake us. His presence is our peace (as our popular sticker says!). Jesus' name “Emmanuel” means “God with us”. John 1 tells us that the Word (Jesus) became flesh and “dwelt among us”. The word for “dwelt” literally means “tabernacled”. Jesus took on human flesh to live among us, to become physically like us, and to give us the greatest gift of all: His presence. 

 

The promises given to Mary are also given to us. But we have a choice: to respond like Zechariah, in argumentation and doubt, or to respond in faith that God is good for His word. Which will we choose? 

 

 

Your home routines either cultivate biblical literacy and spiritual intimacy, or they undermine them.

 

Many women today have been left empty-handed by their foremothers. We no longer hand down domestic skills; we’re forced to learn from YouTube videos and social media influencers (my “day in the life” videos and Substack posts are popular for a reason). Neither do we hand down generational faith. While there’s a healthy subset of Christians who had strong, believing parents who discipled them intentionally, many more grew up in homes that were “Christian” in name only, or worse — unacquainted with Christ at all.

 

Coming to motherhood with little biblical literacy, these women fight an uphill battle to make time for biblical growth. Spiritual intimacy (hard enough to cultivate when you’re single and childless) becomes ten times harder when little ones are vying for your time. Then, hamstrung by no example of home management, these same moms drown in laundry, dishes, cooking, and care for children, wondering where on earth in the day a Bible fits in.

 

These were the women I was writing to in Every Home a Foundation. I didn’t write a theology of home because I just love doing laundry. I didn’t write it because I think women should only be stay-at-home moms, homeschool moms, or working moms (I am all of these at once). I wrote it because the discipline of routine leads to freedom. I wrote about how to lift the burden of repetitive, mundane tasks, to see the eternity in them, because doing so will put eternity in your heart.

 

As a reminder, I am spending less time on social media and I am focusing on spaces that allow for slower, more thoughtful conversation. Substack is one of those spaces.

 

It’s where I share longer-form writing (and sometimes shorter notes too) through out the week—reflections on Scripture, biblical theology, the NEW Every Home a Foundation podcast, and it is where you can find Day in the Life now. 

 

Last week on Substack: