Note: We’re doing a 4-week Advent (challenge) to center on Jesus. Learn more and join us here. Christmas crunch time has arrived. In fact, I’m a little shocked you’re reading this because I figured everyone would be busy with events and travel and last-minute errands. But here you are, so let’s talk. I want…
I have had the worst year ever. I don’t mean compared to other peoples’ years. I’m not so ignorant as to think that I have a particularly hard life when compared to so many others. However. In my world, 2016 has been one heck-of-a roller coaster. But not like a smooth,…
It’s mid-December. The temperatures have dropped, only half of the presents are bought, and none of them are wrapped. The stockings are not hung by the chimney with care, but instead are spilling out of the box sitting in the middle of the living room, half-unpacked. And the tree…well, it’s happily sitting in the…
Because we live in the most affluent nation on earth, it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that accumulation of stuff is the pathway to fulfillment and redemption. Sadly, what most people never discover is that what we thought would bring satisfaction doesn’t. Instead we’re left only wanting more. I think about this…
Right before Thanksgiving, I sat down with my granddaughters, ages six and three, with a Christmas toy catalog. As we turned the pages the oldest circled and put our initials by the toys we each said we’d like for Christmas. The girls picked out dolls and princess dresses, while Papa chose trains and race…
The older I get, the more sentimental I become. Especially as Christmas. Three chords into “O Holy Night” and you’ll find me tearing up and sniffling like a fool. I can’t help it. Something about Christmas just does that to me. Specific lines from my favorite Christmas songs get stuck in my throat and grab…
Christmas is about 7 minutes long when you have kids. One minute it’s Thanksgiving and the next you’re putting away your ornaments. Nothing moves as fast as the holidays and it’s no wonder that so many people find this time of year stressful. How do you make sure you make the most of your Christmas?…
Note: We’re doing a 4-week Advent (challenge) to center on Jesus. Learn more and join us here. Saying that we want to focus on Jesus during Christmas and actually doing it are two separate things. The doing is the hard part—there are a lot of things filling up our minds, and many of…
Over the summer, we were hit with a triple whammy. Over the course of just a couple of days, we got three letters, one after another. Each one was a punch in the gut, increasing in intensity each time. First, the SSI benefit Sam had been receiving that was our only available option to pay…
December 24th, 1972 – My sister and I are huddled in the back seat of my Dad’s Buick rumbling down interstate 64 from my grandmother’s house in Dunbar, to our home in Hurricane, West Virginia. It was late. What started as an amazing dinner, spun itself into caroling, and storytelling, and presents, and laughter. We…