O come, O come EmmanuelAnd ransom captive IsraelThat mourns in lonely exile hereUntil the Son of God appear… Micah, a young shepherd. Nights fall cold and early now. The sheep crowd near us as we huddle by the fire beneath our robes. When I lie on my back and look up at the Judean sky, […]
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The Waiting
This Sunday evening, the gentle pings of my dad tuning his guitar sounded through the living room. My mom lifted a straw-based wreath circled with pine and red ribbons from its box and set the candles in place, four red and one white. We lit the Prophecy Candle, read from Isaiah, and sang of the […]
Thanksgiving After-Thoughts
Well, it’s been a rather unusual Thanksgiving weekend, with my grandma seemingly having a small stroke Thursday morning and my parents spending much of the day with her at the hospital. But they all came home in time for Thanksgiving dinner, and my grandma even got up to dance in to Big Band music in […]
Of Saints and Reformers
Today marks the first of November, All Saints Day, when the Catholic Church has for centuries honored departed followers of Christ, especially those martyred for their faith. Nearly 500 years ago yesterday, a certain fiery German named Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses against papal indulgences—pieces of paper that claimed to offer divine forgiveness for […]
Thoughts on Columbus Day
I don’t know quite what to think of Columbus Day anymore. Not that I’ve ever exactly celebrated it. The closest to even acknowledging the day—other than it being a government holiday—that I can remember is through the Cupie Doll paper dolls I had somewhere around first grade. The little boy and girl figures had coordinated […]
His Pleasure
I loved the movie Chariots of Fire when I was a little girl. I find that funny now, since I couldn’t have understood a lot of it. I’m not sure if it was the music, the mesmerizing footage of runners splashing along an English beach, the drama of the races, or the unassuming, everyday heroism […]
Deleted Scenes
My sister enjoys watching the “deleted scenes” on DVDs. I often join her; it’s fun to see extra bits of the story that didn’t make the final cut and hear the sometimes-included director’s commentary on why that particular scene received the axe. While I can often understand the rationale—a scene didn’t really move the story […]
Be Still
Quiet rests over our patio this Sunday afternoon. A bird twittered above my head at first, but now I think he has moved to a more distant treetop. The neighbors’ air conditioner hums. Leaves rustle in a faint summer breeze. I came out here to write an entirely different post. But when I sat down […]
Father’s Day
“Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.” ~Psalm 103:13-14 Tomorrow my sister and I will teach our Pre K-Kindergarten Sunday School Class a lesson on God’s mercifulness. The lesson […]
Spring
“When [Aslan] shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.” ~ C.S. Lewis I miss spring living here in southern California. We don’t experience spring here in the way other places do. A few trees put out new leaves—but most have been green all winter long. A few more flowers bloom—but we had roses in […]