Writer, Speaker, Editor, Blogger
What brings you joy at Christmas? Is it time with family, baking, singing, volunteering your time and talents? Christmas is a time for celebration, rejoicing, and counting blessings, but it’s also a time to brighten the lives of others, and give as your heart prompts. Here are a few of my favorite things at Christmas: […]
When our children were young, a zealous property owners association board member encouraged everyone in the neighborhood to purchase and place luminaries on the curb in front of their houses each Christmas Eve. Even if we prepared in advance, it was always stressful to get the luminaries in place and lighted before extended family arrived […]
Will this be a difficult Christmas for you? Amid all the activities and festivities, is your heart breaking as you miss the presence of a loved one? Loss comes in many different forms and the associated grief manifests differently for each of us. Your grief may be new or surface afresh after many years. I […]
Have you noticed Christmas doesn’t feel like Christmas this year? Everyone is trying hard, but despite early decorating and attempts at festive social media posts, Christmas 2020 just isn’t the same. To say this year has been hard is a massive understatement. And just when you think you’re doing okay handling the strangeness, isolation, and […]
I love 3-year-olds. They call it as they see it, expressing honestly and openly what they perceive and what they want. Earlier this week, our 3-year-old grandson made an observation and asked for a solution. He noticed the exterior of neighboring houses were adorned with lights and his was not, prompting him to say, “I […]
Beneath a bejeweled sky, a baby’s cry pierced the night. Animal sounds and smells hovered in the air as a young mother placed her newborn on fabric strips spread across a hay-filled feed trough. God’s son entered the world inauspiciously, in a dirty stable, an unsuitable location for any human birth, especially the birth of […]
I remember one Christmas Day, when our children were small, our daughter stood in a sea of ripped wrapping paper, lifted some of the larger pieces, and exclaimed, “Is that all”? We had been to multiple family celebrations over the course of several days. Each included a time of opening presents. Now, after much gift-opening, […]