My parents represented the best of the American idea. My father's ancestors set foot on American soil shortly after the Mayflower brought the pilgrims. And my mother was the child of immigrants. My father was the last of his family line to be born in the same area his ancestors settled in Maine, and my … Continue reading The Importance of Blueberry Pie

Many of us sat down to the beginnings of a feast on Friday. We decided that we wanted to know Jesus better this year by reading his words to us. We opened our Bibles out of a new or continuing commitment to taste and see that the Lord is good.  Some of us will consume … Continue reading Invitation to a Feast

Do you remember what resolutions you were making this time last year? Perhaps they included losing weight, or eating healthier meals, or putting aside some money. Those are all good things when life's bumps are relatively minor and we believe there to be some semblance of order and prosperity undergirding our lives. But in 2020, … Continue reading Resolutions

 Thought I'd share these Christmas thoughts again... Jesus was born in a stable. Very early tradition suggests it was probably a cave. Recent theories suggest it could have been the lower level of a stone house, windowless, where animals were kept. Either way, it didn't resemble the nativity scene on the mantle. Into this Jesus … Continue reading Immanuel

“Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭40:26‬ God flung the galaxies into the void like … Continue reading Lift up your Eyes

"You don't know how I've suffered," she said. "All of you with your happy families haven't ever had something bad happen to you. No one understands how awful my life has been". She had been drinking, so I let it go that night, but this was her script - her identity, which kept her trapped … Continue reading Sorrowful, yet Rejoicing

There was a flurry of excitement in the beginning. Dreams and angelic visitation; a strange new star; foreigners bearing gifts. Then slaughter, a desperate escape and exile. And finally, returning to settle into an average place in a poor village. Except for a brief glimpse in scripture at age 12, He lived in obscurity. An … Continue reading Obscurity

It began the day after Halloween. On my morning walk I noticed a few wreaths on front doors and garland adorning mailboxes and entryways. At home my social media feed began showing people posing with Christmas trees recently decorated. All of this before the jack-o-lanterns were gone from the front stoop. We usually afford Thanksgiving … Continue reading Desperate for Christmas

I spent Thanksgiving of 1992 in a sports bar, in an unfamiliar city far from home. My baby lay in cardiac ICU recovering from open heart surgery. The only restaurant open that day was a sports bar next to a girlie club, so there my husband and I perched on stools, eating burgers and nursing … Continue reading A Thanksgiving to Remember