Monthly Archives: December 2014

Well, Christmas has come and gone. The gifts have been unwrapped. All of the paper has been thrown away and bows and boxes have been stacked for next year’s use. Recipes for leftovers have been pulled out. The kiddies are exhausted from all of the excitement and the adults? Well, we are exhausted too, aren’t … Continue reading »

Merry Christmas! I hope your day is filled with joy and family and a ton of food. I hope you have plenty of coffee if you had kiddies that woke you up at the crack of dawn. You may be running around from house to house today to visit all of the relatives and you … Continue reading »

Today is Christmas Eve. Tonight we celebrate the birth of Jesus. You may still have some running around to do today or you may have it all done. Personally, I will be cooking today with my mom and sister. We will play Christmas music and laugh and tell stories and get caught up on each … Continue reading »

Angels are messengers from God. They are just one way that He chooses to communicate with us. They must be rather frightening when they appear because all three times that they appear in the Christmas story, first to Zechariah, Luke 1:13, then to Mary, Luke 1:30 and finally to the shepherds, Luke 2:10, the first … Continue reading »

As we travel towards the end of Advent, towards the end of the waiting and preparation, I feel like we have to talk about angels. Angels are divine messengers sent from God. They are found in various places in the Bible, but are key in the introduction of Christ. Gabriel makes his first appearance to … Continue reading »

As I have traveled through this season of Advent, focusing on peace, hope, and joy, and trying to share it when I find it. I feel that I just have to share the story of Craig Wayne Boyd. He was a contestant on the television show, “The Voice.” I’ve written about the show before. It’s … Continue reading »

Often when Christmas draws near, joy is the last thing on our minds. It often gets lost along the way with our peace. We rush around at the last minute trying to get it all done and all we feel is worn out. Sometimes we get it all done. Sometimes we plan perfectly. We got … Continue reading »

After my cantata experience, I got to thinking about Christmas caroling and the joy it can spread. I always wanted to go caroling when I was growing up, but we lived ten miles out in the country with no neighbors. There really wasn’t anyone to sing to. When I was in college, I got to … Continue reading »

I just participated in my first Christmas Cantata. I have attended them before, but being on the singing side as opposed to the listening side was a completely different matter altogether. It’s an entirely different way to share our faith. This particular piece wove traditional Christmas songs with newly written ones and produced some beautiful … Continue reading »

I have been writing about Advent for the past couple of weeks. The first candle in the Advent wreath represents hope. The second represents peace. The third candle, that we lit yesterday, represents joy. Joy is a tricky concept for us to understand in today’s world where it seems that instant gratification is on everyone’s … Continue reading »