Chantel 4 Minute Read I’ve always wondered what it might have been like to be alive that night in Bethlehem. I’ve wondered what it would have been like to be one of those shepherds on the hills… to have seen it. To have heard it. To have been there to welcomed Him. I read the words and imagine myself…
Laura 2 Minute Read As I snuggle under a fleecy snowflake blanket in my cozy chair, devotionals in my lap and a cup of tea in my hand, I watch the single candle flickering in the darkness. Three more will join it as the weeks go by.
It is the beginning of Advent.
Chantel 4 Minute Read Truly, in light of all that He has done for us this year–every single day of this year–our hearts would do well to join with David in exulting “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah,” (Psalms 68:19 KJV) and in joining our voices together in praising Him who has done so many Great Things for us as His children.
Elisabeth Adams 3 Minute Read Once upon a time, my Christmases really were like Victorian greeting cards. Back when all ten of us lived in one house, when everyone bought presents for everyone else. (With a little help from our mom, if necessary). There were the secrets in the closet, the anticipation of seeing this person’s face when they saw…
Chantel 3 Minute Read It’s been years now since I started keeping a mental joy journal- a running list of the things in life that made me happy, that made my cup overflow, that brought my heart joy and made me thankful to be alive. Sometimes my lists are filled with obvious things. Sometimes it is filled with little…
Gretchen Louise 4 Minute Read The old adage that “you don’t just marry a person, you marry a family” is never more evident than during the holiday season. Even if you don’t literally go “over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house”, the months of November and December are almost always filled with lots of family visits. I…
Lanier Ivester 4 Minute Read It’s the day before Thanksgiving. One of my very favorite days in the whole year. My kitchen, like so many others across the country (and around the world—I have friends in England, France and Sarajevo celebrating this year) is a scene of happy industry, the loved and familiar scents of sweet potatoes and simmering cranberry…
Elisabeth Adams 3 Minute Read I think the Hobbits were on to something. Tea and scones, porridge and eggs, toast and sausages are well worth considering a second time, especially on a long and cold walk near Mordor when the first breakfast consists of rabbit. The Incarnation, the Atonement and the Second Coming are well worth considering a second time,…
Jeannie Pederson 4 Minute Read When does the Christmas season really begin? That’s a topic open for discussion, but to my mind it begins on the magical morning of December 13, Saint Lucia’s Day. Although our family isn’t of Swedish descent, our neighbors don’t seem to mind that we’ve adopted their holiday, and it has become a special tradition. We’ve…
Lanier Ivester 2 Minute Read January is an excellent time to reaffirm our priorities and desires for the kind of life that we want to live. In this yearly assessment of past projects and future hopes it is of great value to ask ourselves the striking question that Wesley’s Methodists were wont to probe one another with: How is it…
April H. 3 Minute Read The Nativity Story is the first Biblically-based movie to be produced by a major film company since the epic Ben-Hur (1959). Epic The Nativity Story is not, at least not on the grand scale of Ben-Hur or The Ten Commandments (1956), with lavish sets and thousands of extras. No, the strength of The Nativity Story…
Lanier Ivester 2 Minute Read It’s deliciously cloudy out–and suitably chilly–and I’m relishing to the prospect of a day in my kitchen full of happy bustle and preparation for Thanksgiving. We’ll be going to my parents’ tomorrow, and we’re looking forward to a day on the farm with Philip’s family on Friday. But today is ‘at home’ day and I…
The End.
The End.