Anne Neilson on Letting Go of Holiday Perfection and Returning to Jesus
“What my children remember most about Christmas mornings is me crying,” Neilson writes. “Not out of tender reflection on the birth of Christ—but out of exhaustion. For years, I scurried to create the perfect Christmas and still felt the heaviness that so often sneaks in amid all the beauty.” This Christmas season, Neilson wants her readers and admirers to slow down and reflect on the true meaning of Christmas. Through honest storytelling, she reflects on the tension many women feel: the desire to create meaningful traditions while feeling overwhelmed, underprepared, or spiritually dry. Christmas Angels becomes a gentle guide—a reminder that Jesus is the real gift, and He meets us in our mess, our weariness, and our longing.
Neilson's angel paintings—already beloved—add a layer of sacred beauty and wonder to the experience. Readers will also explore Old Testament prophecies, the nativity narratives, and heartfelt prayers that encourage a deeper connection with God during the holiday season.
“In all that holiday exhaustion, God gently reminded me that the perfection I was chasing wasn’t what my family needed—what we all needed was His presence,” Neilson says. “Over the years, I’ve learned to release the pressure and recenter on the true miracle of the season: that Jesus came to bring peace, not performance.” Whether you are navigating a joyful season or one marked by grief, loneliness, or fatigue, Anne Neilson’s Christmas Angels offers space to rest, reflect, and return to the heart of Christmas. In a sit-down interview with Crosswalk/ Salem Media, Neilson has one thing on her mind, and that is reminding us that Jesus is the real reason for the season.
Crosswalk: What do you enjoy about Christmas?
Anne Neilson: I love my family coming together at Christmas.
CW: Why did you decide to write the book?
AN: Christmas should be 365 days a year because it's all about Jesus all the time. I just think we all need to pause. Everybody seems so busy; I really wanted this book to help people focus on Jesus. This is my third devotional; I'm known for my angel paintings. I feel like my whole entire life is a devotional.
CW: What has God been teaching you lately?
AN: The Lord is really showing me what's happening in the spiritual, or vice versa. I'm a storyteller and how God is using my mistakes, my achievements, everything for his glory. I wanted to write this little devotional because, you know, it's a time for us to pause, ponder, and seek after Him.
CW: When you look back, are you surprised at what God has done?
AN: When I look back at what God has done in my life, over the last twenty-two years, I’m thankful that my paintings have turned into a ministry. I flunked out of college, I made a D minus in 10th grade art. I’m just amazed. I'm so thankful. God knew he saw my heart as a little girl who desperately wanted to be an artist, he knew, even though despite I made a D minus that my art was going to be on his word so many years later
CW: You’re known, as the Angels artist, when you’re writing and drawing angels what takes place in you?
AN: We worship a God who created the angels, and he created them for a purpose. It's about the spiritual, you know, the heaven, the beings going on up there. And Ephesians, I pray, a host of warring angels around my family, my marriage, my children. So no more of this one guardian angel. I'm praying for warring angels and a host of them. I know God created them for a purpose and a reason. We don't worship the angels, we worship the God who created them.
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Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/Bogdan Kurylo
Originally published December 16, 2025.
