It's not lost on me that the enemy would use Christmas, the birth of Christ, and kind of twist that,

pervert it, make it as busy as possible so that people don't have the time to reflect on Christ.

It's okay to be sad and to let the grief overwhelm you sometimes. But because Christ

came at Christmas, because a Savior has been born, we have a reason to rejoice. We have a reason

to celebrate. We still have a reason to reach out and to connect with other people in our

lives and with other family members.

Dear young married couple, if your December is full of kids' party schedules, church events,

and tight budgets, and you're not feeling what you're supposed to this Christmas season,

this episode is for you.

Today we're joined by Donna Van Lear, New York Times bestselling

author of The Christmas Shoes, the Christmas Blessing, and other stories that were brought to

life on Hallmark and Lifetime. Her new book, Finding Christmas, opens with the Charlie Brown

in all of us, and it really just addresses this dynamic of us not feeling like we're supposed to this

Christmas season. Today, Donna helps young families choose simple, doable practices that keep Jesus

at the center. Let's jump in. Welcome Donna Van Lear to the podcast. Thanks so much for being with us

today. Thanks for having me, Chris and Adam. Appreciate it.

Absolutely. Well, we're thrilled to have you and talking about Christmas and the holidays. And

you open your book with the chapter called The Charlie Brown in All of Us. What would you say to the young couple who admits that they're

not feeling what they're supposed to feel at Christmas? Yeah, I love that part in the Peanuts' Christmas

special because he tells Linus, I don't know, there's something wrong. I'm just not feeling the way I'm supposed to be

feeling. And I think it's so easy to get caught up in everything, especially now with this

generation in the advance of social media and now with AI. I mean, everything looks picture perfect.

...