Join us as we continue this Advent Journey! Click here to read Days One, Two, Three, and Four. “O come, O come Emmanuel And ransom captive Israel That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear…” Nights fall cold and early now. The sheep crowd near us as we huddle […]
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Journey Toward Bethlehem, Day Four: A Wise Man
Join us as we continue this Advent Journey! Click here to read Day One, Day Two, and Day Three. Star of wonder, star of night Star with royal beauty bright Westward leading, still proceeding Guide us to the Perfect Light. Balthazar By the flickering flames of the oil lamps […]
Journey Toward Bethlehem, Day Three: Mary
Read Day One and Day Two here. “For the Mighty One has done great things for me; and holy is His name. And His mercy is upon generation after generation toward those who fear Him. He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who were proud in the thoughts of their […]
Stories in Community: Bespoke, Star Song, and the Christmas Chronicles
Note: If you’d like to follow my special Christmas series Journey Toward Bethlehem posted throughout the week, feel free to subscribe on the right side of the home page or here to get notification of new blog posts. Your email won’t be used for anything but that. 🙂 There’s an old idea that writers […]
Journey Toward Bethlehem, Day Two: Joseph
Welcome to the continuation of our Advent journey! Read Day One here. Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit . . . ~ Isaiah 11:1 Joseph She is gone . . . thank God, she is gone. I grip […]
Journey Toward Bethlehem, Day One: Elizabeth
Amid the bustle–and often, stress–of this season for many of us, it helps me to have intentional ways to focus my mind and heart on why we celebrate this time of Advent anyway. To remember that Jesus really did come to this messy world of ours, to real people in real, and often difficult, circumstances, […]
Where Is God When the World Is Dark: Meditating on Immanuel
Sometimes life is not easy. My family lived with and cared for my elderly grandmother for over eight years until she went to heaven at ninety-six. I’m so glad we had those years with her, and we have many sweet memories. But sometimes, not having a home of our own and being continually […]
Toward Bethlehem: To Us a Son is Given
Originally posted in Toward Bethlehem series, December 25, 2011. Merry Christmas, dear friends! How silently, how silently The wondrous gift is given So God imparts to human hearts The blessings of His heaven… Joseph And He is born. I lay Him on Mary’s chest, warm and wet and wailing, and cover them both with my […]
Christmas as War
With a somewhat heavy heart, I sang Christmas carols in church this Sunday. Joy to the world! The Lord is come. Let earth receive her king Let every heart prepare Him room And heaven and nature sing… But through my mind whirled the shootings of this past month and the mother we heard of the […]
God of the Unexpected: Mary
Our Christmas series continues–click to read Parts One and Two. Part Three: Mary “For the Mighty One has done great things for me; and holy is His name. And His mercy is upon generation after generation toward those who fear Him. He has done mighty deeds with His arm; He has scattered those who […]