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 […]
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 […]
((I’m so glad you asked….)) People are putting up Christmas trees early this year as we are all desperate for familiar anchors that will hold. We long for the comfort of traditions, the sights and sounds of the season, and what could be a more common sight than Santa Claus? Except this year there are no […]
The arrival of Advent marks the beginning of the church year, anchored on the fourth Sunday before Christmas. In the year of our Lord 2020 the date is November 29th. The word itself is from the Latin word ‘veni’–adventus–coming; the cornerstone of the Advent season is the idea of making room for God to come. […]
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 […]
It is a snowy morning here in Seattle land and I am so very happy to share this very a propos photo, inspired by the Church Year. Our Twelve Days of Christmas begins today and we celebrate until January 6th, Epiphany, when Christ was revealed to the Gentiles. What a gift we have been given. […]
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