Recent Top Posts
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Recent Posts
- for now, over coffee
- church isn’t a class you go to
- the places doors take us
- though I oft left Thee
- I love teaching children
- Buckets that leak
- Who is the Holy Spirit?
- Are you walking at a distance from God?
- no matter when or where you’ve lived
- Why do we respond to beauty like we do?
- self-hate, or what God says about you
- if you haven’t read it…
- Depression: an embarrassment to be hidden, or a door for grace to enter through?
- when I need an attitude check
- Were you hired at the eleventh hour?
Top Posts & Pages
- for now, over coffee
- trampled the waves of the sea
- A royal diadem in the hand of God?
- passing through walls like rocks pass through water
- Lean hard.
- twisted and stuck, or held and comforted?
- helping generations you might never see
- little starfish smiles
- knowledge too heavy
- the teaching of kindness is on her tongue
Tag Archives: Christmas
teaching children generosity at Christmas
We were slow. It took us until about Day 5 before we fully realized what was happening. Then, we started trying to catch them in the act. Twelve full days passed and we never once caught any of them. They … Continue reading
they were part of God’s plan
I know it seems odd to see wise men as Easter approaches. We usually only think of them at Christmas. But how delightful to remember, at all times of the year, this amazing truth: God planned, before the world was … Continue reading
How can I weep with one friend and laugh with another?
A dear friend’s unexpected tragedy has been my first waking thought for about twelve mornings now. My beautiful friend and her family live in South Africa, so I find myself, first thing as I wake, calculating the time of day … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity
Tagged Christmas, Douglas O'Donnell, Ecclesiastes 3, God's timing, guilt, mourning, New Year, New Year's Eve, providence, rejoicing, South Africa, time, tragedy, weeping
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not the palace for a reason
“In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. And … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity
Tagged Bethlehem, Bread of life, Christmas, incarnation, Jerusalem, Jesus' birth, Luke 2, no room in the inn, Spurgeon, the magi, the wise men, Tissot
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Overjoyed? Or troubled?
Such a contrast. The foreign Magi are overjoyed. They travel a great distance. They come to worship. The local ruling class, though — Herod and the religious leaders — are disturbed and troubled. Herod, in secrecy, begins to plot. When … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity
Tagged choice, Christmas, difference, Herod, innocents murdered, Jesus' birth, magi, Matthew 2, neutrality, which am I, wise men
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brightness at midnight, darkness at noon
“At the birth of the Son of God, there was brightness at midnight; at the death of the Son of God there was darkness at noon.” Brightness at midnight “And in the same region there were shepherds out in the … Continue reading
Belief like the wise men
“It is not known who these wise men were. Their names and dwelling-place are alike kept back from us. We are only told that they came ‘from the East.’ Whether they were Chaldeans or Arabians we cannot say. Whether they … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Faith, God, Jesus
Tagged birth of Jesus, Christmas, faith, J.C. Ryle, magi, Matthew 2:1-12, three kings, three wise men, who were the wise men, wise men
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Something bigger than our whole world
He looked again and could hardly believe his eyes. There was the blue sky overhead, and grassy country spreading as far as he could see in every direction, and his new friends all round him laughing. “It seems then,” said … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, Faith, God, Jesus
Tagged Christmas, Christmas engraving, CS Lewis, Gustave Dore, Jesus, Last Battle, stable
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the Grinch edged toward the more
Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before! What if Christmas, he thought, doesn’t come from a store. What if Christmas…perhaps…means a little bit more! Are you confused this Christmas? Are you in need of compassion, and yearning for … Continue reading
Posted in Christianity, God, Jesus
Tagged 2 Cor 5:21, Acts 2:36, Christmas, Dr. Suess, I Timothy 1:15, John 1:14, John 3:14-16, John 8:12, love, Matthew 9:36, the Grinch, the real meaning of Christmas
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His light shines in darkness
“All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not … Continue reading
Come, thou long expected Jesus
Come, thou long expected Jesus, born to set thy people free; from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee. Born thy people to deliver, born a child and yet a King, born to reign … Continue reading
your deepest Christmas longing
What do you long for this Christmas? Do you have a deep yearning for a solution to the world’s — and especially your own — problems? Let’s think about God’s already-given, Christmas-time answer to our problem (from which all residual … Continue reading
readied for Christmas
If you live in the U.S., you’re probably full of Thanksgiving turkey, and a “get ready for Christmas” post seems crazy. But. Get ready. And I don’t mean get ready to head out for pre-Christmas sales. I mean ready your … Continue reading
Even More Beautiful 