Listen HERE Since my family is studying Medieval History this year, our car trips have been full of The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood, Men of Iron, and Ivanhoe. Chivalry is not dead in these stories! Perhaps the courtesy and manners in these stories only ever lived in myth, but I still raise my daughtersContinue reading “Ladies and Gentlemen”
Tag Archives: Bible
Spit on. Struck. Slapped.
Listen HERE There’s an awkward part of Handel’s Messiah where the alto sings, “Despised. Rejected,” over and over. In that section, she also repeats, “He gave His back to the smiters, and his cheeks to them that plucked off the hair…” It is always a little uncomfortable to think about Jesus having hair on hisContinue reading “Spit on. Struck. Slapped.”
The Beauty of Advent
The Burden of Advent
Did you get it right this year? Advent, I mean. Did you do it right? Did your perfectly clean house smell like gingerbread? Were all of your gifts purchased and wrapped before December began? Have you had angelic family devotions every night where your children gathered around the piano and sang Silent Night perfectly onContinue reading “The Burden of Advent”
The Blindness of Advent
Listen HERE Fourteen years ago, my grandmother gifted us an ornate advent calendar. It is shaped like a house, and each door is numbered. She also sent little ceramic animals that I remember from my own childhood. “Put one in each door,” she wrote in her letter, “and then, each day you can see whoContinue reading “The Blindness of Advent”
The Battle of Advent
Listen HERE I live on a reservation where I see many battles. Even while I watch my little boy fight imaginary foes with a wooden sword, I am praying for my brothers and sisters in Christ who are fighting the battles of addiction, grief, loneliness, rejection, generational trauma, and hopelessness. Those foes rise up withContinue reading “The Battle of Advent”
Growing Popcorn
Listen HERE It takes 100 days for popcorn to grow. I planted the seeds in May. I watched the stalks grow throughout June and July. By August 25th, the yellow ears were ready to harvest. My kids helped me take the kernels off about fifty of the cobs, and I couldn’t wait to fry themContinue reading “Growing Popcorn”
Word of the Year
Listen HERE I am a word person, and my word for 2024 was “Rise.” I had in mind Jesus’s resurrection from the dead, getting up earlier (an unreached goal of mine every year), and overcoming obstacles. I hadn’t thought of rising dough or the kneading it takes to ensure the rising works right. I haven’tContinue reading “Word of the Year”
Today’s Babel
Listen HERE What havoc the original Babel incident caused! God confused peoples’ languages, forcing them to disperse, teaching them that uniting behind evil is not uniting at all. What if it happened again? But this time, God determined the point at which the world was full of language. The last word would be the proverbialContinue reading “Today’s Babel”
Pickleball Lessons
When I play pickleball with my son, we both go all out. Pickleball is America’s fastest growing sport according to USA Pickleball, and it is easy enough to learn that our whole family can play together. It is fun to watch our children play with full effort, and I am thankful that our local pickleballContinue reading “Pickleball Lessons”
