Yesterday we celebrated the Lord's Supper at church, as we do the first Sunday of the month. Taking Communion during Advent is a strange experience for me. At first thought, Communion doesn’t fit into an Advent service. It’s not “Christmasy.” Christmas is the celebration of God's gift, his Son sent ... read more

The beauty of the Incarnation is that God moves toward earth when all earth is moving away from him. He comes into a world that rejects him, and all for the purpose of saving it--of changing the direction of souls, that they may move toward him and not away from him. Our natural, sinful instinct, ... read more

“Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.” (Matthew 1:19) There are days I seem so wise in my own eyes. Just and upright. Sensible and wanting to do the proper thing. Surely, Joseph must have felt the same. A man ... read more

Eighty miles of journey and a load that grows larger each day. Sticks gouging sandaled feet. Blisters, hunger, and dust. More dust. And then mud. Strangers with stares that threaten peace of mind and lead to one-eye-open sleep. Hard ground beneath and the sky as a blanket. After such an journey, ... read more

Today I'm welcoming my friend and fiction critique partner, author Jennifer Rodewald. Find encouragement and truth at the blog she coauthors, The Free Slaves Devotion.  Advent to Coronation My oldest is thirteen this year. Thirteen. Wow! Where do the years go? She is at an age where, like a baby ... read more

This morning the woods are shrouded with fog. Not a dense, harsh, blind-your-eyes fog, but a hugging fog. An I-love-you fog that wraps around you and makes you yearn to stay safe and hidden in it for hours and days. Makes you yearn for more of beauty and truth and grace. Advent is the season of ... read more

But when the time had fully come, God sent his son . . .Galatians 4:4 The manger is God’s idea. Nowhere in the Old Testament do we see an Israelite sit down and ponder, “If only Yahweh would become like us. Take on flesh. Then maybe we could learn to love him and have a chance at being ... read more