For You, Our Friends.

In the blink of an eye, I can count 22 people VERY close to me who are deeply hurting. Whether it's family issues, marriage issues, job issues, spiritual issues, they are hurting. How I wish I could fix their problems. How I wish I could take away their pain. They know who they are. And God knows who they are, and also helps carry their pain.

I wanted to share this letter. This is for you, my friends whom Darryl and I love dearly. We are carrying your burdens with you, and thinking of you constantly. This was our Christmas letter this year. Some of you haven't received it yet, it will be coming soon! (My apologies, I left them behind on our Christmas trip, so that's why they're late. Better late than never, right?)

You are loved. You are not alone. We are hurting with and for you. I hope amidst your pain that knowing this brings you comfort, if even for a moment.



He is FOR…

The broken
The lonely
The abused
The bruised
The neglected
The hungry
The poor
The hopeless
The homeless
The despairing
The mourning
The forgotten
The cheated
The weary
The lame
The prodigal
The broken-hearted
The foreigner
The orphan
The widowed
The sick
He is for YOU.


Sometimes life gives us NOTHING BUT hurt….and ALL WE CAN OFFER is a broken heart. That is okay. That is acceptable….and believe it or not, it can even be an act of worship! He NEVER turns us away.

In fact….He is closely acquainted with all of those things.

Just as a mother holds a child who’s hurting, and hurts alongside him, wishing she could take away those hurts and carry them herself…how much MORE does He wish we’d come to Him so He could do that very thing??

Our tears, our hurt, our grief, and our broken-hearts are accepted in His Kingdom.....

The story of Christmas is a dark story, filled with scandal and heartbreak. It reminds us of the fact that even in our darkest hour of our darkest days….HE is with us. He is with you. Emmanuel.

“Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2

“Let all that you do be done in love.” I Corinthians 16:14


With love for you this Christmas season,
Darryl, Jessica, and Dylan Schafer