No one loves Christmas more than my dad. My parents had a way of making it magical every year, and a huge part of that experience was the decorating. There was only one kind of Christmas tree to buy: the biggest one we could find. And there was only one place to put our humongous Christmas tree...
The dark shadow of space leans over us… We are mindful that the darkness of greed, exploitation, and hatred also lengthens its shadow over our small planet Earth. As our ancestors feared death and evil and all the dark powers of winter, we fear that the darkness of war...
The true light [Jesus], which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. -The Gospel of John 1:9 Christmas lights have always fascinated me. I still remember the multicolored lights wrapped in live pine roping that were strung across the Lebanon city streets of my childhood...
My son is holding me to a very strict Christmas decorating regimen this year and I am not meeting his deadlines. But, he’s five and excited, so I don’t fret too much. I want the house decorated, too, and I understand all the anticipation and...
We walk in darknessStumbling, feet slippingGrasping for something, anything to keep from falling We scrape our hands on broken branchesOur knees on stony pathsIn trying to save ourselves, we are wounded We wander in the murky blackColliding, skin finds skinFor a moment, we are not...
On November 2nd, the night before the 2020 presidential election, my son Levi and I were driving down West Main Street in Lebanon. He pointed out that the light poles had been decorated for Christmas. As we drove we enjoyed the lit-up angels and bells and snowmen. To be...
From the lush, moistness of the hardwood forestsDown to the great wilderness and beyondMorning fog flows over the mountain passClipping the treetops, flowing softly; quietlyAs a river of mist to the rocky coast below. From the stillness, sounds of the ocean come crashingAnd well up like...
Maya Angelou is attributed with saying, “I’ve learned you can tell a lot about a person by the way he or she handles three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.” I don’t know about you, but I’ve experienced my share of...
Most churches offer some kind of a Christmas Eve service, but few put on a true Midnight Mass, which just happens to have been my mom’s favorite service of the year. The tradition started many hundreds of years ago when Christians began to hold vigils in preparation for...
First Comingby Madeleine L’Engle He did not wait 'til the world was ready, 'til men and nations were at peace. He came when the Heavens were unsteady and prisoners cried out for release. He did not wait for the perfect time. He came when the need was deep and...
