As Long As There’s Christmas, There’s Hope (Repost)

December 20, 2025 Cathleen Zahradnik

Don’t you think that the Christmas season inspires more creativity than any other season of the year? There are multitudes of songs, stories, poems and plays. There are also a myriad of movies and TV specials. In an attempt to make money off of a movie’s popularity, film companies will often create a special Christmas offering. Notice that I didn’t say that all that creativity is actually “inspired.” Many of these works are admittedly forgettable. But there is one presentation you might not know about that always touches my heart.

One of my favorite movies is the 1991 Disney film, Beauty and the Beast. It was the first full length animated film to be nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. Not only was it popular, it really is an excellent film. Disney made lots of money in spinoff projects, one of which was Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas.

The action is set in the middle of the original storyline during the winter while the Beast and Belle are becoming firiends and starting to fall in love before the enchantment is broken. Belle wants to celebrate Christmas which the Beast has forbidden. Her efforts are brought to a halt by the Beast but, of course, in the end he comes around and a joyful Christmas is celebrated on their journey toward an ultimate happy ending.

Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas is a musical offering and there is one song that so captures the spiritual essence of the holiday that I find it often in my head. The lyric that says it all is this:

“As long as there’s Christmas I truly believe that hope is the greatest of the gifts we’ll receive.”

Celebrating Success

July 5, 2025 Cathleen Zahradnik

“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him” Philippians 2:13 NLT

Stopping to celebrate success is a necessity, not a luxury. I’ll admit that celebrating does not come naturally to me. Some people are a party waiting to happen. Everything becomes a reason to celebrate. Not me. I guess celebrating has seemed impractical. But it is not. I’ve learned that celebrating is a necessary part of the goal achievement process.

What good is achieving a goal if you don’t celebrate it? When you mark that goal complete, it’s important that you do something to celebrate it. Plan in advance how you want to acknowledge the occasion.

Why is it important to celebrate your successes?

Celebrating success is not about you. Celebrating your success is your opportunity to thank God for what He has done to help you achieve your goal. He has worked in your circumstances. He has given you wisdom. But most of all, He has worked in your character.

Every goal you achieve, if it is a God-centered goal, is part of becoming the person He has designed you to be. It’s part of accomplishing the good works He planned in advance for you to do. (Ephesians 2:10) When you celebrate your successes, you celebrate God’s work in your life.

This Summer!

May 24, 2025 Cathleen Zahradnik

Final edits and formatting are in process!

Thanks for your patience. I can’t wait to share it with you!

Pressing on is More Important than Perfection: Tom’s Birthday Tribute

June 29, 2024 Cathleen Zahradnik

“I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” Philippians 3:12-14 NLT

I don’t remember meeting Tom. It was somewhere near the end of elementary school. We were never in the same class, but our families attended the same Catholic church. In high school, we were in plays together. We have known each other through the best and worst of seasons, even before we were married. Watching God transform Tom has been one of my life’s greatest privileges.

From the moment he first surrendered his life to Christ at the age of 19, I have watched Tom pursue God zealously. When my own commitment to Christ brought me to the same church he was attending, we rebuilt a broken relationship and became good friends until God surprised us with love and marriage. He is not the same sarcastic boy who cut people down with his words in high school. And he is not the same fearful young man that I married. He has pressed on through a myriad of challenges, internal and external. And that is what I have learned most from Tom. Pressing on is more important than perfection.

Here are a few lessons I’ve learned from Tom. Maybe he will inspire you as well.

Don’t let fear keep you from trying.

What Will They Remember About You?

April 13, 2024 Cathleen Zahradnik

“There has never been another prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face.” Deuteronomy 34:10 NLT

When people think about you what is the first thing that comes to their minds? What do you want them to think about? What kind of legacy do you want to leave?

I’ve been thinking about Moses. Moses was identified by his relationship with the Lord, not by all the miraculous things he had done or how he led the people. His legacy was intimacy with God. How’s that for a legacy? I want to be identified by my relationship with the Lord more than anything that I do. That’s what I want people to remember. Boy, have I got a long way to go!

Isn’t that the legacy of the “spiritual giants” who have done great things for God? They preached to large crowds but spent hours alone on their knees. They taught the principles that defined their daily actions to lead others into the kinds of relationships that they had with God. That’s why we remember them.

Brother Lawrence, Oswald Chambers, Charles Finney, Eric Liddell, Billy Graham, Jim Elliot, Elisabeth Elliot, Amy Carmichael, Mother Theresa, Joni Erickson Tada and so many others. I’ve read about them or read their words. What is it that attracts me to these people? Not their mighty deeds. It is the deep relationship with Jesus that motivated their works.

When people remember me, I want them to be inspired to spend their energy pursuing His presence in their lives. That’s all that really matters.

What can you and I learn from Moses about intimacy with God?

How to Find the Peace You Long For

December 16, 2023 Cathleen Zahradnik

” For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.” Isaiah 9:6-7 NIV

Did your family celebrate Advent? Advent is a season of reflection in preparation for Christmas. Perhaps you didn’t grow up in a home that paid attention to spiritual preparation for December 25. Perhaps it was all about the food and the presents and the parties in your home. Sunday church was important to my family, but there wasn’t much reflection going on at home. Tom’s family had an Advent wreath in their home, and we carried that tradition into our family. Now that our kids are on their own, Tom and I still light the candles in our Advent wreath each Sunday of the season and spend time reflecting on the themes of Advent: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love contained in the first coming of Jesus to earth and pointing toward His expected return.

Advent is full of expectation. Waiting, longing, hoping for light in the darkness of winter. Looking back to Israel’s longing for the Messiah to come. Looking ahead to creation’s longing for its King to appear and set all things right.

My thoughts this week are on the theme of peace — Shalom – the restoration of all things. Every relationship. Every broken body. Every fractured peace in the world. All things. ALL THINGS set right. Life as it was meant to be from the very beginning. Life as God designed it to be.

Longing for restoration. Longing for peace. It doesn’t just exist during Advent, does it? That is where humans live. We live in a space of longing for life to be the way it was meant to be.

Where do you need peace in your life? What needs to be restored? Faith that God really does love you? Hope that relationships will be mended? Trust that everything you need will be provided? Vision of a future that you thought was lost?

Longing for something can be a dark and lonely thing, unless you are longing with the expectation that it will happen. That is the definition of hope. Longing with expectation.

Don’t Just Dream It, Do It!

September 16, 2023 Cathleen Zahradnik

“Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.” Philippians 4:8-9 MSG

Why do we often stop at thinking about an idea or a dream and not do it? Who do you dream of becoming? What do you dream of doing? What are you doing about it? Having those dreams is great. But dreaming about those things must translate into action for transformation to happen. Don’t just think the best, do something about it.

Dear Friend, don’t discount your dreams. They are in you for a reason. The difference between dreamers who only dream and dreamers who live out their dreams is simple. The ones who live them out are the ones who do something to achieve them. What steps are you taking to live out the dream that God has put in your heart?

Have given yourself permission to dream? Then you are off to a good start. If you are disciplining yourself to think about what is best, good! Are you beginning to apply the truth of who God says you are to your life? Awesome! You are making progress toward becoming the person you were designed to be. Now it’s time to take a step further. It’s time to do something about achieving those dreams! Think the best and then take steps in the direction of that dream. Here’s how.

Every Goal Needs A Tune-Up

April 15, 2023 Cathleen Zahradnik

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. ' Philippians 3:13-14

You’re on the road and realize that the road signs and landmarks don’t line up with where you thought you were going. You don’t want to waste time and gas by heading in the wrong direction. What do you do? You pull over, figure out where in the world you are, and check your navigation to make sure you are on the right track! Then you fine-tune your directions and get back on the road.

So, where are you on your journey toward fulfilling your divine destiny? Where are you in fulfilling the goals you have set? One of the most important things you can do to keep making progress is to stop and re-evaluate your goals. Every goal needs a tune-up!

Here are some reasons why.

Celebration is Motivation!

April 1, 2023 Cathleen Zahradnik

Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. ' Philippians 3:13-14

You’ve taken the time to craft a compelling goal. You’ve created a system to remember your goals. You’ve thought about what you want to achieve. You’ve asked yourself some hard questions. Good work!

Now begins the task of working toward achieving that goal. Where are you at? It’s time to evaluate. Do you know what that means? More hard questions!

To evaluate where you are, take a good hard look at the reality that is right now. Why not start with an encouragement boost? Consider your goal, and ask yourself some questions.

What is working well? Start here.

What's Your Story?

November 26, 2022 Cathleen Zahradnik

“Let them praise the Lord for his great love and for the wonderful things he has done for them.” Psalms 107:8

Think about it: What is your story? Where were you this time a year ago? 5 years ago? Ten years ago?

One of the traps people have always fallen into is forgetting where they have come from. Read the Old Testament and you'll see it over and over again. God's people forgot that they were slaves and God sent Moses to deliver them. They forgot that they while they were wandering in the wilderness because of their unbelief, God provided for them. They forgot how He split the Red Sea or opened a path through the Jordan River, or sent food they didn't have to grow or hunt for in manna and quail. It goes on and on.

The Scriptures bear witness that God's people continually, even habitually, forget what God has done for them in the past, complain about their present, and don't expect God to fulfill His promise for the future. As much as we hate to admit it, you and I are just as prone to such forgetting. It's not pretty.

September 12, 2026

This is Not Forever

“For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 NLT

As I tearfully opened the sodden boxes of our stored belongings, wondering what was ruined, a verse came to mind,

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” Matthew 6:19-21 NLT

We were temporarily living with my parents, and our stuff was stored in Tom’s parents' garage. They had a plumbing issue in their bathroom above the garage, causing a leak that soaked several of our boxes and other items, including our mattress. We weren’t sure what was salvageable.

That period of time was already difficult. We were waiting for a job to open up and unsure how long that would take, how long we would be living with my parents, how long our stuff would be stored. Both sets of parents had been patient, loving, and gracious. There was no one to blame for the water damage. Sometimes things just happen.

But when that verse popped into my brain, it completely changed my perspective on going through the damage. The tears didn’t stop. There was some mourning and disappointment. But at the same time, there was hope. This was temporary. These things were just things. What really mattered was how I responded. I could choose an eternal perspective. I could choose to treasure Christ more than an earthly possession.

As it turned out, very few of our things were unsalvageable, and insurance more than covered anything that was lost. But the eternal perspective I gained is a treasure that I still carry. That simple shift helped me through the three and a half years of living in the in-between.