Life is full of promises–those we have made and those made to us. Considering how often promises influence our lives, it is surprising how little we reflect on them. The liturgical season of Christmas provides rich opportunities to reflect on the promises of God’s love. This book blends seasonal vignettes and Scripture passages to help […]
Read More
Easter – Season of New Life Some people think evening is the best time of the day–a time for rest after a day’s work done well. But evening can also be a time for regret, for errors made, for tasks and kindnesses left undone. I prefer the morning with its promises, its opportunities. In the […]
Read More
Christmas – Season of Promise Three dreamers, chasing a star . . . Three dreamers come from afar . . . How I admire their ability to hold on to what they believe is true. How I admire those who risk everything because of a hunch, because of a promise from only-God-knows-whom. They kept their […]
Read More
Christmas – Season of Promise Love conquers all–so we’ve been told. But sometimes love appears to be on the losing side in our world. Ultimately, however, love will prevail, if not in this life, then in the next. For God so loved the world that he sent his Son and he continues to send his […]
Read More
Christmas – Season of Promise He is old, yet spry. She moves slowly, but gracefully. Their minds are sharp. Their reason for living has kept them active longer than their contemporaries. Promises pledged in youth and tended to these many years give meaning to their lives. Their promises to each other, spoken so many decades […]
Read More
Christmas – Season of Promise My baby is born and my joy is complete. Will I ever experience greater joy than that of today? Daily he masters new skills and tricks–a twitchy smile, a purposeful crawl, “Mama.” For this purpose I was born–to prepare for his arrival, to carry him in my arms until he […]
Read More
Christmas – Season of Promise I stand before you, Lord, ready for a new day, a new year. How quickly the years follow one after the other, piling up behind me. I have more to look back upon than to anticipate. The New Year’s Eve service is quiet, then a quiet celebratory dinner with my […]
Read More
Christmas – Season of Promise Consider the power of words. With them I encourage and congratulate, embarrass and insult, proclaim my love–and my promises. Consider, too, the power of words unspoken, the power of silence. Silence is pregnant, full of potential. Lord, give me the wisdom to know when to speak and when to be […]
Read More
Christmas – Season of Promise Why is it the old year ends and the new year begins in the midst of winter? Why not celebrate the New Year in spring when life bursts forth anew? Winter is the season of dying, not of rebirth, yet each December we celebrate the birth of a baby. Amid […]
Read More
Christmas – Season of Promise Eager children reach out to touch the nativity figures arranged in the manger. One caresses the Infant. Another reaches for Mary, while a curious toddler investigates Joseph’s hard beard. These children instinctively reach for the sacred, to physically touch these special figures they have heard so much about: the swaddled […]
Read More
