Our Voices Matter
I’m a big fan of the talent show, “The Voice”. The contestants belt out a song while the chairs of the judges are turned away from them. The judges base their decision solely on how good their voice is – not by how they look or their stage presence. If they are a good singer,…
Time to Stop, Look and Be Blessed
Last Sunday was the first Sunday of Advent. We’re making the trek to Bethlehem and the night that Christ was born. Today, the second Sunday of Advent, the second candle will be lit. I took this photo of the Advent wreath last Sunday. Those of us who have purposed to slow down and breathe in…
Christmas Divides Darkness from Light
It’s here at last! The most wonderful time of the year! I think we’re singing that song a little louder and prouder this year. We sure needed Christmas and its many symbols and songs and THE BABY to light up the darkness we have encountered this year. I needed one little set of clear Christmas…
It’s Black Friday!! Let the Christmas Season Begin!
Last year, I mixed up Thanksgiving and Christmas with both décor strategically placed throughout my home. But this year, though I put up my outside lights (note my two youngest grands modeling my lights for me), I didn’t want to rush past this time of expressing my gratitude for God’s blessings this year. In my…
Scraggly Pessimism or Bright Eyed Hope
I read that this year’s 75-foot-tall, 11-ton Rockefeller Center Christmas tree arrived at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. The tree, donated by Al Dick (from his front yard in Oneonta, New York), will be lit on Friday, Dec. 2. The headline that stood out first about the tree was “it is a symbol of…
It was a Day of Humbling Ourselves
I heard about Franklin Graham’s call for a prayer march in Washington D.C. on Saturday, September 26th. I also heard that Jonathan Cahn, a former Jewish rabbi and now, Messianic Jew, called for a day-of-prayer rally in Washington D.C. I knew I would dedicate my Saturday to joining others in prayer, so it was a…
Being a DIY Underachiever…..or Not
Let’s be honest – we’d all like to be that husband/dad/man who can build or fix just about anything. And, in the female species, the gal who is incessantly on FB or Instagram touting their latest, successful DIY project. I’m Joanna Gaines in my dream world. My daughter and her husband amazed me when their…
Letting Our Christmas Joy Be About the Joy-Giver
Here we are – smack dab in the middle of Christmas time – only 13 more days until the presents are all unwrapped, we’re eating our Christmas breakfast and some of us are singing “Happy Birthday, Jesus”! When I was a very young child, I was taught, like many children, that Christmas Eve was special…
Permission Granted to Let a Few Things Slide
It’s no longer “beginning to look a lot like Christmas” because it is Christmas and it’s exploding in living color, bright lights, adored Christmas carols playing, Santas at Salvation Army kettles and stores, shoppers with carts loaded with treasures to be wrapped and placed under the exquisite trees I’ve seen displayed on FB and Instagram.…
Thanksgiving? Advent? Christmas? Bah Humbug!!
erfection. But, you may be one saying “Pleassse, no more Thanksgiving talk! No more cozy family photos.” I know not everyone can join the thanks-giving bandwagon! You may be one not-so-invested in the holidays when it seems everyone else gets their holly-jolly-selves on! They’re cheerful, happy, all caught up in their blessing moods while you…