from the

project

Day 1: The Year Before

In the year before Jesus Christ arrived on earth, His backstory was being written in the lives of a handful of people living in northern Israel at the turn of the calendar. Real people living normal, mostly insignificant lives. All that changed when God picked them to play a part in the greatest story in history. Same as when He invites us into His story.

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For the next 30 days, take a fresh look at a story you think you already know. Meet the people in Jesus’ backstory one on one and you might be surprised how much they remind you of people you know, maybe even yourself.

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We’ll start with a peek into what could have been happening in heaven a year before Jesus was born. Then if that’s not crazy enough, we’ll be there when the glory of heaven came to earth.

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Why take such a journey?

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The Bible tells us Jesus invites us to know Him—which is unusual for any leader, much less from God. He knows each of us personally—by name, by heart—He invites us to do the same—to know Him—by name, by heart.

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And so He tells us His backstory. Where He grew up. Who influenced Him. What factors shaped His life’s path. What’s important to Him. What He loves.

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On the way, we’ll meet the man and woman God chose to be His parents. We’ll get to know His aunt and uncle and cousin and hear some of His family’s stories from that crazy first year they always seemed to be on the road. Every holy and human moment of Jesus’ backstory will give us just a little more to know and to love about Him. Every road that we’ll travel leads us to one place—back to Him.

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And as we begin to see the bigger picture of Jesus’s life and mission, we’ll see it’s only the beginning of the best story we’ve ever heard.

Articles

I like to walk in the early morning. The health benefits are well documented, but it's for my spirit and soul that I fight. Before the day interrupts, I listen. I try to hear God's voice and sometimes I catch it on the wind, reminding me of all the new things He promises with the sunrises.

About Barb

Barb Peil weaves words like invisible threads that help us build confidence in what we hope for, in things we are certain of, but cannot see. Follow every thread and you'll find Jesus. Follow Jesus and you'll find life.

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Barb never expected her life to expand as it has, she just walks each day into the next. Chasing those sunrises. Following the beauty. Surprised at every turn how the evidence unseen always points home. With anticipation, she wakes every morning, meeting all the mystery and vistas of life along the front range of the Rocky Mountains in Fort Collins, Colorado and beyond.