ADVENTure | Convo #1: Do You See the Promise?

Hope isn’t a mood we chase in December; it’s a promise with a name. We open the season by looking through Mary’s eyes, where an ordinary day collides with God’s faithful word and changes the story for every family that follows. From the angel’s announcement to the echoes of Isaiah and Matthew, we trace how a centuries-old promise becomes deeply personal—shaping how we pray, parent, give, and wait when the details don’t make sense yet.

Host Tosha Williams shares how this promise threads through Scripture and into our kitchens, commutes, and crowded schedules, and why the book of Galatians calls us heirs to something bigger than holiday tradition. We talk about trust that moves like Mary’s “be it unto me according to your word," as we balance between the honest tension of slow answers and second guesses. Then we ground it in practice with a simple tradition inspired by the real Saint Nicholas: giving early “promise gifts” that point to Emmanuel. Think small, meaningful tokens paired with Scripture to remind the people in your care that God keeps His word and Christmas is coming.

This conversation is devotion-driven and practical. You’ll leave with questions to ask God this week, Scriptures to hold, and an easy way to share hope with your people. If you’re craving a Christmas that feels less frantic and more faithful, this is your on-ramp to seeing promise in the middle of ordinary life and letting your everyday kindness whisper His faithfulness.

Find the coordinating devotion-driven discipleship guide HERE.

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Which of God's promises are YOU holding onto this week?

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The Family Disciple Me ministry exists to catalyze devotion driven discipleship in our homes and around the world. We believe that discipleship starts with a conversation, and FDM provides free, easily-accessible, biblical resources to encourage these meaningful conversations along life's way. Sign up through our website to be "the first to know" about upcoming releases and resources (including the FDM App - coming soon!!!) You can also follow Family Disciple Me on social media.

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Chapters

• 0:07 Christmas And The Pulse Of Promise
• 1:35 Seeing Through Mary’s Eyes
• 2:39 Prophecy Fulfilled And Mary’s Faith
• 4:06 God’s Promises In Ordinary Moments
• 6:23 Heirs Of Abraham’s Promise Today
• 7:22 Trusting Without All The Details
• 8:57 St. Nicholas Day And Promise Gifts
• 11:45 Discipleship: Seek Him, Speak Him
• 14:32 Weekly Guide, Next Topic, Sendoff

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:07

Promises, promises, promises. Christmas is full of them, isn't it? Every child feels it. That spark of hope, that countdown, that anticipation that something really good is coming. And honestly, we grown-ups, well, we feel it too. There's something about Christmas that stirs up that longing for a promise. Whether it's spoken or unspoken, that promise that goodness, one way, shape, or another, is coming our way. But long before presents were a part of Christmas, the promise was the heartbeat of Christmas. It was a promise that was spoken by God, it was carried through the prophets, it was whispered to Mary, and it was fulfilled in Jesus. So as we step into this first adventure conversation, here's our question. Do you see the promise? Because this week, as we begin this collection of conversations that we're simply titling, Do You See What I See? We're going to look through Mary's eyes. We're going to look through eyes that saw God's promise for his people, but also saw God's promise for herself personally. Hi, my name is Tasha Williams, and I want to welcome you to the Family Disciple Me Ministry, where this year we're not just doing Advent, we're doing Adventure because we believe that Christmas is meant to be encountered, to be explored, and we believe that this conversation collection, do you see? What I see is the ultimate expression of devotion-driven discipleship. So I'm so glad that you're here with me today. And well, first of all, we're going to look through Mary's eyes, and then I'm going to share with you our adventure activity for this week. Now, as we get started, picture Mary with me. She was a young girl on an ordinary day when suddenly she was face to face with an angel. I don't know about you, but if that were me, I would have needed a moment to catch my breath. Actually, I may have needed several moments. But Mary, well, she listened because the angel began unfolding to her a promise Israel had waited centuries to hear. You will conceive and give birth to a son. He will be great. He will reign forever. And Matthew wrote in his gospel that all this happened to fulfill what God had promised through the prophet Isaiah when he wrote, the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel. I'm certain that Mary grew up hearing that prophecy. I absolutely believe that she knew that promise and many more promises, but suddenly the promise to her people became a promise spoken to her personally. She couldn't have understood everything. Honestly, who would? But she believed that God keeps his word. And that's why her cousin Elizabeth said to her, Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her. Mary believed the promise spoken through the prophets. She believed the promise spoken to her heart by the angel. She believed the God who can do the impossible. Now, maybe you're listening to this while you're on your way to work, or you're watching this while you're on the treadmill at the gym, or maybe you're just listening while you're stirring dinner on the stove. You may have kids running all around. You may be in the midst of a crowd with your headphones in. You may be all by yourself in a quiet moment. Regardless, whatever is happening in your life right now, real life is happening all around you in this very ordinary moment. But do you know what I've been learning as I have been seeking to see through Mary's eyes? I've begun to see that God loves to whisper his promises right in the middle of our everyday, ordinary moments, the very same way that he whispered his promise into Mary's life on an ordinary day. We may not get an angel like she did. In fact, we probably won't get an angel, and yet the invitation is here for us. God is saying, look again, see my promises, seek me until these promises that I've given in my word become personal to you. So here's my challenge for you. My challenge for myself is to ask God, Lord, what have you promised my family? Lord, what words from Scripture do you want me to cling to right now? God, where are you fulfilling promises in my everyday, ordinary life? Promises that I haven't even noticed you fulfilling yet. Here's what I know. When we seek the Lord, when we ask him questions like that, when we're in his word and we're looking to see him in a new way, I believe that when we seek him, he will help us to see everything that he wants to show us often more clearly than we can even imagine. Thing is, Mary wasn't the first to carry God's promise. She wasn't the last either. The promise, well, it came from the beginning of time. It rippled from Abraham to the prophets to Jesus to the early church and into our lives today. I love what Galatians chapter 3, verse 29 says. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed and heirs according to the promise. You see, here's the thing: God's promises, they're not just ancient history. God's promise is your family's story. It's your children's inheritance, it's your legacy. And Christmas, it isn't only about a promise that was kept back then. It's about a promise that's still alive right now, today, in your ordinary life and in mine. And when we truly begin to see that, I believe that we live with a very different kind of hope. So what do we do with this promise? I love what Mary shows us. And as we look through her eyes and see her response, well, we can respond in a new way as well. Mary said, be it unto me according to your word. That's not a passive response. That's courageous. That's trust emotion. And to be honest, I've had seasons where I have felt like God's promises, well, they were slow, or maybe they were never going to happen, or they were just too big to become possible for me, for my family. Times when I've wondered if I'd listened to him correctly, if I had understood his word right. And maybe you've been there too. Maybe you've had those moments where you've questioned God's promise. But the thing about Mary is that she reminds us that faith isn't about having all the details. Faith is about trusting the God who keeps his word. And so this week we get to lean in more to him, seeking his promise and seeing them in a new way, and asking him, what promise do you want me to see and hold on to right now? How are you wanting me to follow you today like never before? Because here's what I believe. When we respond to God's promise, our faith in him takes real shape and real movement in our real, everyday, ordinary lives. And well, speaking of our real, everyday, ordinary lives, well, this week, as this podcast goes live, is actually my birthday week. And turns out my birthday, December 6th, is also Saint Nicholas Day. Now, I didn't grow up celebrating Saint Nicholas Day. I didn't know the shoes or know about the oranges or the chocolates or the history, none of it. Had no idea about it until a few years ago when I discovered that my birthday was actually a holiday. It's mostly a European holiday. But the more that I've learned about the real Saint Nicholas, the more I've realized something. Nicholas didn't give gifts because it was cute or traditional. He gave gifts because, well, he was a Christ follower and he believed the promise, the promise that Mary carried, the promise that Jesus fulfilled, the promise that God still gives us today. Nicholas, who ended up being known as Santa Claus, well, the real Nicholas, he believed God was true to his word. He believed that he followed a generous God. And well, his giving of gifts was a way of reflecting what he believed. And I think that's why this tradition is becoming so meaningful to me. I have grandchildren now, so I decided that every December 6th on my birthday, on St. Nicholas Day, that I'm going to give a gift to each of my grandchildren. You know, that's a fun way to celebrate my birthday as I get older. But I think that it's also such a fun adventure activity. So this year I want to invite you into this St. Nicholas Day, my birthday, with me. Let's give small promise gifts to those that God has entrusted to us or is asking us to bless. These gifts don't have to be anything big or fancy, but obviously December 6th is well before December 25th. And these gifts become little reminders that whisper God keeps his promises, and Christmas is coming. What a joyful way to begin to celebrate the holidays and to begin the adventure of Christmas. I'd love to invite you into this with me. Sometime this week, whether it's December 6th or another day this week, doesn't matter the day. I challenge you to give someone or maybe some someone's in your life some sort of promise gift, something that's simple, something that's joyful, something that communicates. This is a promise that reminds us of a greater promise, the greatest promise, God's promise. And I want you to see that promise as well. You see, when we live like this, when we respond like Mary, when we give like Nicholas, well, we can help others see God's promise more clearly as well. And that's what discipleship is all about. That's how we live out. Seek Him, speak Him. You see, when you see an aspect of Christmas, when you see the promise like never before, and maybe there's a promise that God is highlighting or going to highlight to you as you spend some time in the devotion-driven discipleship guide. I hope that you'll do that along the way. But when you see the promise like never before, whichever promise it is that God is showing you, well, you naturally want to help someone else see it too. So, friend, let your life point others to the God who keeps his word. Let your kindness whisper his faithfulness in keeping his promises. Let your promise gift or gifts become a seed of hope in someone else's Christmas journey. Because discipleship is simply about helping someone else see what you've seen in Jesus. Isn't that amazing? That's something that every single one of us can do as a Christ follower. So this week in our conversation collection, do you see what I see? I'm praying that you will see the promise like never before. I'm praying that God will show you one of his promises that he specifically has for you this week that he wants you to meditate on and remember in a new way. I'm praying that you will be reminded that God's promises aren't just ancient, long-ago scriptures, but they are relevant to your everyday, ordinary life this week. And, well, as you remember that, don't forget, everyday ordinary lives need to have a little bit of adventure when it comes to Christmas. So lean in, spend some time in the devotion-driven discipleship guide that goes along with this podcast, this vodcast. Spend some time meditating on the scriptures that go along with this episode, and then be sure to spend a little bit of time in the adventure this week and invite someone else into the conversation with you. Next week, we're going to talk about do you see what I see? Do you see the king? I can't wait to talk to you about that. But until then, keep looking for the promise that God sent us in Jesus. Look through Mary's eyes for what he's given us as his people, and also what he's given you personally. God is so faithful, and Christmas is coming. He promised it, and he always keeps his word. Be encouraged, friend. I'll see you in the next episode. Have a great week.