The holidays are here. I know this because my mailbox is overflowing with sale ads and circulars every single day. Sometime during the last decade, “Black Friday” turned into “Black Thursday Afternoon.” Stores used to open early at 6:00 a.m. on Friday, then some went to midnight, and in the last few years stores started…
The holidays can be lonely. If family is far away–and sometimes even if they’re nearby–the whole season can loom like a spectre, inducing feelings of overwhelm. If you’re experiencing any kind of loss, separation, financial strain, or personal stress, all the preparing and shopping and cooking and traditions can easily lose their shimmer, lose their joy….
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.” ~John 1:14 ESV One of my favorite movies of all time is Sleepless in Seattle. Sam Baldwin is a widowed father whose eight-year-old son calls a radio talk show on Christmas Eve on his behalf. Annie Reed is listening. Hearing about the deep love Sam had for his…
A newborn baby inspires hope. The earthy, metallic smell of birth mixes with the sweetness of Johnson & Johnson’s. It reaches your heart through your nose. A smile tickles your lips as you start to talk in a silly voice you wouldn’t dare use in an adult conversation. Babies are a phenomenon of hope and…
In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town…
Has God ever stirred your heart to go? To do? To move beyond merely dipping your toe in unknown waters and instead jump in, armed with immovable faith and unshakeable courage? Come closer and listen in as I share how He recently did this in my family. Just a few short months ago, my little…