Suicide has touched my world several times this year. I also have learned of families I know that are falling apart. Friends have told me how hopeful they had been about a fulfilling aspect of their work, only to see their employers mess it up by treating people like pawns, or by politicizing the work. And finally, I had a …
Advent: the Anti-Seinfeld and Anti-Friends
This may be the post that finally generates hate mail. In an effort to help you prepare your heart for Advent, I’m going to point out how two 1990s powerhouses got it wrong. There are two modern ways of looking at the world: Seinfeld or Friends. Two Mirrors The theme of Friends is summed up in its theme song: “I’ll be there …
You are in the story
This Christmas season, I have been thinking about stories, fasting, gifts and coffee. “Because you rescued me.” At the end of summer, we visited the beach. My 4-year-old was floating in a stream that flowed into the ocean. She wore floaties, even though it was just a foot deep. Until it wasn’t. We hadn’t realized there was a cliff of …
Podcast 85: Our special holiday episode
This is a quick recording to alert you to the video version of this week’s podcast. We hope it’s a blessing to you. Happy Thanksgiving and season’s greetings!
Our presence can be our presents
Enjoying the Moment It’s neat and tidy in my household: Autumn birthdays and Halloween all wrap up by the end of Oct. 31. All that’s left is the candy. The kids have been waking up early every morning to lay out their treasures … and trade them. It’s like they have forgotten that they can eat the treats. We ration …
CHRISTMAS DAY: The Christ Candle
Advent is a season. It celebrates the first Advent, or coming, of Christ in Bethlehem. And it anticipates the final Advent of Christ to set all things right. No artwork, videos or allusions today. Savor the beauty of the King James translation that ends the Bible. These are quotes from Revelation 22, relating the vision revealed to the Apostle John, …
FOURTH SUNDAY: The Candle of Purity
No Christmas Story? We haven’t really talked about the Christmas story proper yet. There are four gospels in the Bible. Gospel means “good news.” Four different authors give the good news from their four different perspectives, each to a different audience. Each of them touch on Christ’s birth. Except one. Matthew gives a genealogy of Jesus and introduces us to …
THIRD SUNDAY: The Candle of Joy
The Wait It’s called Gaudete Sunday, after the first Latin word spoken in the liturgy: Rejoice! Here’s a Christmas carol for the occasion. The translation of the chorus: Rejoice, rejoice! Christ is born Of the virgin Mary Rejoice! Quite a contrast from the lyrics of the most traditional Advent hymn: O come, O come Emmanuel To ransom captive Israel That …
SECOND SUNDAY: The Candle of Hope
Dark Is the Night An unkind social media post. Disrobing in a photo exchange. Arranging a meeting that results in addiction, or pregnancy. After 14 years of working with teens at my church, I have learned one thing: If they are going to have regrets, it will be because of something done online, after midnight. Any shock at their “online …
FIRST SUNDAY: The Candle of Expectation
Plagued by Snakes My family moved just as the pandemic kicked off this year. Into a house with snakes. At first it was just a snakeskin in the attic. Then one in a crawlspace. As spring sprung, we repeatedly caught a 4-footer trying to sneak in the back door. Then we saw a baby slithering across the playroom in the …
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