How can we hope when not all is merry and bright?We often think of the Christmas season as a time of good cheer, festive parties, and thoughtful gifts. But what happens when the reality of life stands in stark contrast to these expectations? Cancer diagnoses, divorce proceedings, and natural disasters...
How can we hope when not all is merry and bright? We often think of the Christmas season as a time of good cheer, festive parties, and thoughtful gifts. But what happens when the reality of life stands in stark contrast to these expectations? Cancer diagnoses, divorce proceedings, and natural disasters do not care about calendar time. Smaller hardships create their own stress--travel woes, custody arrangements, money struggles, and political differences can strain our closest relationships. How do we live into the spirit of Christmas when things feel bleak? From the coauthor of Comfort and Joy comes a gentle companion for a season that may not always feel like the most wonderful time of the year. Spiritual director Sherah-Leigh Gerber offers readers ways of noticing how God shows up in daily life amid our heartache, grief, and loss. With thoughtful reflections and compassionate blessings drawn from the familiar biblical texts of Advent, Unhappy Holidays invites readers to recover a sense of hope as we prepare to celebrate the incarnation. Includes resources for small groups and use in worship settings as well as at home.
Table of Contents:
DECEMBER 1 The Chaos of Thresholds DECEMBER 2 Already and Not Yet DECEMBER 3 The Dawn DECEMBER 4 Advent People DECEMBER 5 Times of Fear and Wonder DECEMBER 6 Disappointment DECEMBER 7 Grief DECEMBER 8 Wonder DECEMBER 9 The Soul Work of Advent DECEMBER 10 The Recounting DECEMBER 11 Composing a Salvation Oracle DECEMBER 12 Persistence DECEMBER 13 The Barren Spaces DECEMBER 14 Unimagined Possibilities DECEMBER 15 Community DECEMBER 16 The Divine Invitation DECEMBER 17 Being Human DECEMBER 18 Our Expectations DECEMBER 19 The Ash Heap DECEMBER 20 The Long Times DECEMBER 21 Midwifery DECEMBER 22 The (Extra) Ordinary DECEMBER 23 Waiting DECEMBER 24 Light DECEMBER 25 Christmas Conclusion and Blessing for a New Year
Bonus Materials: Adapting for Small Groups Adapting for Use in Worship Advent Candle-Lighting Litanies Blue Christmas: A Worship Gathering for the Longest Night Scripture Indexes
Review Quotes: "This is the real-life Advent devotional I've been waiting for. Sherah-Leigh Gerber's reflective, stripped-down theology leaves room for everyday peril amid the twinkle lights. May this honest guide be our reminder that Emmanuel showed up, stuck around, and journeys with us in our doubt, our grief, and our ordinary bliss."
----Shannan Martin, author of Start with Hello and The Ministry of Ordinary Places
Review Quotes: "Advent is my favorite season of the year, but it is not always an emotionally easy season. If we hold space for the true nature of the waiting of Advent, it's a countercultural time for the unknown and even the unhappy. But as the angel said, "Do not be afraid," for this lovely book holds reflections and blessings to accompany you through all the days of waiting that Advent brings."
----Whitney R. Simpson, author of With God in Every Breath: A Guide to Drawing Closer to Jesus through Your Senses
Review Quotes: "Sherah-Leigh Gerber clearly loves Advent, not only as a lead-in to the main event of Christmas, but as a season of honest reflection and deep longing, a season for waiting on God and being surprised by unexpected blessings. This is a book to savor: with readings from Scripture, daily reflections and words of blessing, and bonus materials to use this book with a small group or in a worship setting."
----April Yamasaki, pastor and author of Hope Beyond Our Sorrows and Sacred Pauses
Review Quotes: "A refreshingly honest and unique Advent devotional. Sherah-Leigh Gerber readily admits that all is not merry and bright. Not for us, nor for those who first sat in darkness, longing for the Messiah to break in to their realities of fear, disappointment, oppression and death. If you're struggling to find joy this Christmas season, Unhappy Holidays will speak tender words of comfort to your weary soul."
----Jason Porterfield, author of Fight Like Jesus: How Jesus Waged Peace throughout Holy Week
Review Quotes: "Unhappy Holidays is the book we all need at some point in our journey. As a therapist, I value this resource as a gentle companion for anyone struggling through the holidays for a variety of reasons that the reader may not be able to articulate. This book is a great gift for the person who meets the holidays with grief, loss, or ambivalence."
----Brenda L. Yoder, licensed mental health counselor and author of Uncomplicated: Simple Secrets for a Compelling Life
Review Quotes: "I know very few people who feel 'merry' around the holidays. Most, though, long to engage with the One who is intimately familiar with the lives they lead and the challenges they face. If that's you--and I suspect it is--I hope you'll welcome Unhappy Holidays as the new holiday tradition that will bless you and the ones you love."
----Margot Starbuck, New York Times bestselling writer and author of The Solid Place: 365 Affirmations for Thriving Emotionally and Spiritually
Review Quotes: "Unhappy Holidays somehow recounts the familiar Advent journey where the darkness of grief meets the light of grace with honesty and comfort. As a pastor honoring the spirit of waiting, Sherah-Leigh Gerber captures the slow moves of God in this season of unfolding. Her ordinary but parabolic stories are like the bread and wine of communion that meet us in our unique Advent locations and fill us up with the richness of having been with God. This book resources a sacred Advent with extra prompts to use in worshiping communities of many sizes, ensuring we don't journey alone."
----Shannon W. Dycus, author of The Holy in the Night: Finding Freedom in a Season of Waiting
Review Quotes: "Unhappy Holidays invites us to live into the beautiful complexity of Advent rather than succumb to the cheerful veneer of the secular holiday season. In her gentle weaving of the biblical story with our contemporary stories, Sherah-Leigh Gerber creates a nurturing space for those who carry grief with them into this holy season."
----Joanna Harader, author of Prone to Wander and Expecting Emmanuel
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How can we hope when not all is merry and bright?We often think of the Christmas season as a time of good cheer, festive parties, and thoughtful gifts. But what happens when the reality of life stands in stark contrast to these expectations? Cancer diagnoses, divorce proceedings, and natural disasters...
How can we hope when not all is merry and bright? We often think of the Christmas season as a time of good cheer, festive parties, and thoughtful gifts. But what happens when the reality of life stands in stark contrast to these expectations? Cancer diagnoses, divorce proceedings, and natural disasters do not care about calendar time. Smaller hardships create their own stress--travel woes, custody arrangements, money struggles, and political differences can strain our closest relationships. How do we live into the spirit of Christmas when things feel bleak? From the coauthor of Comfort and Joy comes a gentle companion for a season that may not always feel like the most wonderful time of the year. Spiritual director Sherah-Leigh Gerber offers readers ways of noticing how God shows up in daily life amid our heartache, grief, and loss. With thoughtful reflections and compassionate blessings drawn from the familiar biblical texts of Advent, Unhappy Holidays invites readers to recover a sense of hope as we prepare to celebrate the incarnation. Includes resources for small groups and use in worship settings as well as at home.
Table of Contents:
DECEMBER 1 The Chaos of Thresholds DECEMBER 2 Already and Not Yet DECEMBER 3 The Dawn DECEMBER 4 Advent People DECEMBER 5 Times of Fear and Wonder DECEMBER 6 Disappointment DECEMBER 7 Grief DECEMBER 8 Wonder DECEMBER 9 The Soul Work of Advent DECEMBER 10 The Recounting DECEMBER 11 Composing a Salvation Oracle DECEMBER 12 Persistence DECEMBER 13 The Barren Spaces DECEMBER 14 Unimagined Possibilities DECEMBER 15 Community DECEMBER 16 The Divine Invitation DECEMBER 17 Being Human DECEMBER 18 Our Expectations DECEMBER 19 The Ash Heap DECEMBER 20 The Long Times DECEMBER 21 Midwifery DECEMBER 22 The (Extra) Ordinary DECEMBER 23 Waiting DECEMBER 24 Light DECEMBER 25 Christmas Conclusion and Blessing for a New Year
Bonus Materials: Adapting for Small Groups Adapting for Use in Worship Advent Candle-Lighting Litanies Blue Christmas: A Worship Gathering for the Longest Night Scripture Indexes
Review Quotes: "This is the real-life Advent devotional I've been waiting for. Sherah-Leigh Gerber's reflective, stripped-down theology leaves room for everyday peril amid the twinkle lights. May this honest guide be our reminder that Emmanuel showed up, stuck around, and journeys with us in our doubt, our grief, and our ordinary bliss."
----Shannan Martin, author of Start with Hello and The Ministry of Ordinary Places
Review Quotes: "Advent is my favorite season of the year, but it is not always an emotionally easy season. If we hold space for the true nature of the waiting of Advent, it's a countercultural time for the unknown and even the unhappy. But as the angel said, "Do not be afraid," for this lovely book holds reflections and blessings to accompany you through all the days of waiting that Advent brings."
----Whitney R. Simpson, author of With God in Every Breath: A Guide to Drawing Closer to Jesus through Your Senses
Review Quotes: "Sherah-Leigh Gerber clearly loves Advent, not only as a lead-in to the main event of Christmas, but as a season of honest reflection and deep longing, a season for waiting on God and being surprised by unexpected blessings. This is a book to savor: with readings from Scripture, daily reflections and words of blessing, and bonus materials to use this book with a small group or in a worship setting."
----April Yamasaki, pastor and author of Hope Beyond Our Sorrows and Sacred Pauses
Review Quotes: "A refreshingly honest and unique Advent devotional. Sherah-Leigh Gerber readily admits that all is not merry and bright. Not for us, nor for those who first sat in darkness, longing for the Messiah to break in to their realities of fear, disappointment, oppression and death. If you're struggling to find joy this Christmas season, Unhappy Holidays will speak tender words of comfort to your weary soul."
----Jason Porterfield, author of Fight Like Jesus: How Jesus Waged Peace throughout Holy Week
Review Quotes: "Unhappy Holidays is the book we all need at some point in our journey. As a therapist, I value this resource as a gentle companion for anyone struggling through the holidays for a variety of reasons that the reader may not be able to articulate. This book is a great gift for the person who meets the holidays with grief, loss, or ambivalence."
----Brenda L. Yoder, licensed mental health counselor and author of Uncomplicated: Simple Secrets for a Compelling Life
Review Quotes: "I know very few people who feel 'merry' around the holidays. Most, though, long to engage with the One who is intimately familiar with the lives they lead and the challenges they face. If that's you--and I suspect it is--I hope you'll welcome Unhappy Holidays as the new holiday tradition that will bless you and the ones you love."
----Margot Starbuck, New York Times bestselling writer and author of The Solid Place: 365 Affirmations for Thriving Emotionally and Spiritually
Review Quotes: "Unhappy Holidays somehow recounts the familiar Advent journey where the darkness of grief meets the light of grace with honesty and comfort. As a pastor honoring the spirit of waiting, Sherah-Leigh Gerber captures the slow moves of God in this season of unfolding. Her ordinary but parabolic stories are like the bread and wine of communion that meet us in our unique Advent locations and fill us up with the richness of having been with God. This book resources a sacred Advent with extra prompts to use in worshiping communities of many sizes, ensuring we don't journey alone."
----Shannon W. Dycus, author of The Holy in the Night: Finding Freedom in a Season of Waiting
Review Quotes: "Unhappy Holidays invites us to live into the beautiful complexity of Advent rather than succumb to the cheerful veneer of the secular holiday season. In her gentle weaving of the biblical story with our contemporary stories, Sherah-Leigh Gerber creates a nurturing space for those who carry grief with them into this holy season."
----Joanna Harader, author of Prone to Wander and Expecting Emmanuel
Unhappy Holidays: Blessings for a Blue Christmas$32.99
Koorong code671394
ISBN9781513816470
Pages140
PublisherHerald Press
Publication date07 October 2025
Dimensions12 x 147 x 193mm
Weight0.16kg
DeliveryOrder today for it to arrive in 6-8 weeks
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