If you’re like us, we’re all about Christmas in July! As we look forward to the holidays, we’re already getting excited about this year’s Prepare Him Room Virtual Event. To help us get in the Christmas mindset, we asked this year’s speaker, Melissa Spoelstra, and worship leader, Lindsay McCaul, a few questions to get a closer look at their holiday experiences.
What’s a holiday tradition or rhythm in your own family that helps keep Christ at the center?
- Melissa: We designate a time on Christmas Day where everyone goes off to spend thirty minutes with Jesus—the One whose birth we celebrate. We gather and share together a word/prayer request for the upcoming year and discuss how the last year went.
- Lindsay: My two boys are ten and seven, so every year our family bakes a birthday cake for Jesus! It’s become a special tradition for us. On the afternoon of Christmas Day after all presents are opened and crumpled-up wrapping paper has been collected, we light a candle on a simple homemade cake and sing Happy Birthday to Jesus. Also, in lieu of a certain popular sneaky elf, we bring out our “Finding Jesus” puzzle and doll activity set in early December. My kids have loved the daily Scripture verses, putting the puzzle together each morning, and centering our hearts on Jesus all month long! Neither of these activities is elaborate, but for us, they’ve been meaningful in helping us all keep Jesus the focus in our daily conversations throughout the Christmas season.
Why do you think women specifically need a moment like this during the Christmas season?
- Melissa: We are so busy—at times it feels like a lot falls on us—baking, decorating, shopping, wrapping, hosting. We need a moment to pause and remember, Selah, what it’s all about! A gathering like this gives us that time to sing, reflect, feel seen by others, and prepare Him room in our hearts so that we don’t lose sight of what Jesus did for us in coming from heaven to earth on our behalf.
- Lindsay: We all know the Christmas season can quickly get filled with schedules, shopping, hosting, and caring for the people God has so graciously placed in our lives. Even knowing it’s coming, every year I find it can be difficult to set aside time for my heart to be refreshed. I have to be intentional to press pause on the busyness and follow Mary of Bethany’s lead to sit at the feet of Jesus. I love that Prepare Him Room provides a way for women to come and behold Him through fellowship, worship, and digging into the Word together, readying our hearts to receive our Savior.
Melissa, without giving everything away, can you give us a sneak peek of the Scripture passages or characters from the Christmas story you’ll be unpacking this year?
- Melissa: We will be diving into the heavenly messengers who speak on God’s behalf to Zechariah, Mary, Joseph, and the shepherds. In their words from the Lord, we get a glimpse of God’s desire to come near to us through His Son putting on flesh and dwelling among us. We will catch a renewed vision for the supernatural story that invades our natural lives today and every day!
Lindsay, what is your favorite Christmas song, and does the answer change depending on the year?
- Lindsay: Oh man—this is a tough question! My favorite Christmas carol has stayed the same for most of my life now, but my favorite Christmas songs change from year to year, if that makes sense. “Oh Holy Night” is the carol I will just never get tired of—any version, any vocalist, fully produced or stripped back with only piano; I just love that song so much. No matter how many times I hear it or sing it, the moving lyrics and stunning music stir my heart to worship and make me want to fall on my knees in awe at the gift of Emmanuel, God with us! As far as Christmas songs go, there are so many wonderful, poignant songs and reimagined carols that are released every year, but one that’s stuck with me for a while now is “Just a Girl” by my friend Brandon Heath. I love the perspective of the innkeeper getting an up-close glimpse of what the Lord accomplished that first Christmas Eve through “just a (willing, humble, surrendered) girl.”
Lindsay, what is your hope for women to experience through worshiping together this Christmas season?
- My hope is that as we gather and lift our hearts to the Lord at Prepare Him Room this Christmas season, that it would remind us that this is what you and I were created to do—we were made to worship our Creator! For all eternity we will be in the presence of our Savior, worshiping and thanking and magnifying Jesus for who He is and all He’s done. What a joy to get to gather with friends old and new, with our sisters and moms, nieces and aunts, to testify to His faithfulness this side of the veil—before we see Him face to face! Scripture shows us that the Lord does amazing things when we worship Him through singing, and I especially love that He uses it to help move truth from my head deep down to grow roots in my heart, stirring up a holy confidence in the One we’re singing of/to. So as we sing familiar Christmas carols and songs at Prepare Him Room this year, my prayer is that the Holy Spirit would re-center our hearts on the Prince of Peace—the One who stepped into our world, bridged the great divide, and made a way for us to be with Him forever. Thank You, Jesus.
Join Melissa and Lindsay for the Prepare Him Room Virtual Event, streaming November 13—December 31, 2026. Register online today for yourself or make this your women’s ministry Christmas event!
