Good morning... I happened upon this YouTube retelling of a story I remember from childhood. When Paul Harvey recorded these words in 1965, I was just two years old. Now listening again, I understand more deeply why Jesus was born into our world as a baby, just like you and me. It’s in Christ that we find out [...]
Good morning... "I found it uncanny...after reading your devotional, this article was in the N.Y. Times..." she wrote after yesterday's post, My Prayers For The Church. "So obviously God is in tune with these thoughts and quietly teaching all of us... enjoy!" ****** Eriks Esenvalds: ‘Earth Teach Me Quiet’ Earlier this year, when singing together became just about [...]
Good morning... "Merry Christmas," she wrote after yesterday's post, A Nifty Poem. "I love this poem. Our special retreat in Blue Ridge is like an outdoor church for me with a beautiful open field and surrounding woods. I love to take long quiet walks. I can listen to the Bobolink and his bird friends sing their songs and [...]
Good morning... The subject line in his email read, "A Nifty Poem." Opening the gift this Sunday morning after Christmas 2020, I was invited outside the box with God. "I've never seen that poem before," he wrote, "and yes it is quite appropriate for now. You know, we were talking about this recently, that I've gone to church [...]
Good morning... As I pulled out my phone's camera to snap a photo of the rising sun, I thought, "How do we response to the dawning of light?" We can't stop it or deny it or contain it for ourselves. We can only notice it. Admire it. Expect it. Reflect it. Appreciate it. Hope for it. Bask in [...]
Good morning... Emmanuel, God-with-us, is born anew today. God humbles himself to put on skin, to grow up with us, to walk beside us, to quietly guide us. Christ's footprint mirrors our footprint, wherever slushy, sloppy circumstances greet us at rise of sun. Day after day, night after night, God's experience gently mirrors our experience so we never [...]
Good morning... Fifty-eight years ago today, my husband Steve surprised his parents by arriving three weeks early. From the pulpit as a Presbyterian minister, his father was able to announce a double meaning at each Christmas Eve service, "Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given!" Fast forward to now. Do you remember that [...]
Good morning... Over the phone, she describes in detail her favorite painting of the newborn Jesus with his mom and dad. She notices the image as her guide for this unusual Christmas. She begins, "It's a dingy stable room instead of a soft warm space. The setting reminds me of the small, one room apartments we would encounter [...]
Good morning... "Every year since we've been married, we've traveled to see our families," she said over the phone yesterday. "Today is the day we always leave, we head up north, we go to my parent's home to gather with all the aunts, uncles, and cousins. Then we spend time with my husband's family. For the first time, [...]
Good morning... From a handful of people whom I love dearly, I was forwarded the following email over the past week. The Christmas Star appearing this year on December 21 is making news. It is amazing that this occurrence is in the year 2020. In the year when Jesus was born there was violence, chaos, political and social [...]
