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”
Tag Archives: Christianity
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”
Room for Rent?
Listen HERE “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in Him and He in God.” Memorizing this verse for AWANA gave my seven year old and I alot to talk about. He wondered: “Where exactly is God living in me? Right here?” (Pointing at his chest). “Well, is Jesus the SonContinue reading “Room for Rent?”
Autumnal Hope
Listen HERE “The seasons are a sort of disease all young poets have, it seems,” the teacher says to Emily in L.M. Montgomery’s “Emily of New Moon.” This makes two weeks in a row that I am referencing nature, but it is hard not to during such a beautiful Fall. Why did the Lord makeContinue reading “Autumnal Hope”
Wonder of Worship
Listen HERE Wonder attracts our attention to detail. My youngest son and I made leaf tracings this week with red, yellow, and golden leaves. His wonder at the beauty of color made him concentrate on the shape of the leaves, their edges, their veins. Because he studied the details, he then could identify and nameContinue reading “Wonder of Worship”
Solution for Disaster
Listen HERE When there are dirty dishes on the counter, it’s surprising how quickly my children remember what everyone else ate. Accusations fly faster than mashed potatoes from a spoon. Eventually, the guilty party stops throwing accusations and begins flinging excuses. It’s rare for someone to confess immediately, and even rarer for someone to voluntarilyContinue reading “Solution for Disaster”
Sarah Dixon Young 