“Did not a great grey servant Of all my sires and me, Build this pavilion of the pines, And herd the fowls and fill the vines, And labour and pass and leave no signs Save mercy and mystery?” -G.K. Chesterton, from the Ballad of the White Horse, Book IV The holiday weeks are often …
Undecorating on Twelfth Night (a #Poem)
Sparkle on the landing, glitter and shine shards of light, we need you, crusted there in dot, line, and crevice. No fussy janitor bemoaning minute diamond specks, I rejoice instead at the toy’s bright offering, paradox on the stairs. I leave its bright message twinkling amidst the dust, evidence of a fulsome holiday. Pause mid-task …
Whose Birthday is it, Anyway? A Christmas Post
One Christmas Eve, 2008 to be exact, my son and his wife stayed overnight with us so we could all be together when our two young grandsons woke up the next morning. We tucked the kids into bed that night after church and proceeded to turn our living room into Santa’s workshop. I don’t recall …
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Amaryllis–An Advent Post
There can be no manner of doubt a name is more easily remembered when its meaning is understood. –A.J. Macself, from the Foreword, “Plant Names Simplified” I forgot to plant my amaryllis bulb the week of All Hallow’s Eve. The teacher in me loves the object lesson, how planting a crinkly, brown bulb with antenna-like roots …
So, What About Santa Claus?
Weaving together the wonder of Christmas involves one part birth of our Savior-Come-to-the-World mixed (one could say way too much) with life of a saint, Nicholas, to be exact. Santa Claus is, in fact, based on a real-life saint--Nicholas of Myra. It would be easy to blame our culture and their cashing in, literally, on …
The Day I Cleaned the Front of my Fridge & Found Peace in my Heart (an Advent Post)
The arrival of Advent marks the beginning of the church year, anchored on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. The word ,Advent' is from the Latin adventus–which means 'coming.' This makes perfect sense: the cornerstone of the Advent season is the idea of making room for God to come. It is a time of waiting, as …
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Twelfth Night & “The New Dial”
Happy Twelfth Day of Christmas! January 5th (or 6th, depending on who you speak to) marks the end of the twelve days Christmastide. It is possible that “The Twelve Days of Christmas” has been confused with (or is a transformation of) a song dating from the 1600’s, called “A New Dial” (also known as “In Those Twelve Days”). The New …
Twelvetide (or, The 12 Days of Christmas)
Christmas is a season, not just one day, in spite of the consumer-driven, gift-focused frenzy that surrounds December 25th. There is one calendar we are used to keeping time by, but as followers of Jesus, the church calendar provides a Christ-centered focus for our days. In the church year the Christmas season is marked by …
Living the Church Year
This is the post excerpt.