Thanksgiving is just 2 days away. Which means the biggest shopping day of the year is just 3 days away. For about 50 reasons that I won’t recount here, I’ve never been much of a shopper. I mean I like spending money, and I like getting new things, I like cute clothes, shoes, and good books. But it’s the laborious process of trying stuff on, finding the right thing, the walking, and waiting, the in-and-out of parking lots and cars and lines, that I’ve never been a huge fan of. So “Black … [Read more...]
Show Up in the Dark, Just like Jesus
Sometimes the world seems scrambled. A lot of the time actually. It’s hard to understand why things happen or why they are allowed to happen. I’m regularly taking refuge in this fact: chaos in the world does not mean Christ is not at work. We’re just one calendar flip away from Christmas, and just two weeks from the first Sunday of the season of Advent. The world seems a little dark as we look toward preparing and celebrating Christ’s coming. But I’m reminded that Christ came in the … [Read more...]
All I Want for Christmas
It came up again last week at bedtime. A gift from the past: hand print snow man ornament. “Mom, what do you want for Christmas?” I could not think of one reasonable thing to say. A few years ago Zach asked me this same question, and I was ready with a completely practical idea. “You know what I really want? A pair of really warm pajamas.” He looked at me in disbelief, and exhaled an incredulous, “Phfffffff!” My request didn’t even warrant a real word. I got … [Read more...]
Receiving the Undeserved Gift
I scrambled up to the first couch cushion and dutifully obeyed my mother’s little rhyme: “Open your hands and close your eyes and I will give you a big surprise.” Meanwhile on the middle couch cushion, long after I had settled myself, my little sister wriggled off the couch and then climbed back up again. I didn’t dare open my eyes to see the spectacle, but I could feel it. And without looking, I knew she hadn’t even closed her eyes! Now I use that little rhyme on my couch. … [Read more...]
Light Shines Through
Earlier this year I blogged about a quote that resonated with me: “The World Does Not Know Her Name” And I think it resonated with many of you because of the blessed dichotomy it represents: We can be broken and useful. Uncelebrated and influential. There is great relief in knowing “broken” and “useful” are not contrary terms when it comes to you and me. We are comforted knowing that anonymity does not preclude influence. Think of Mary. A teenage wallflower from a dot-on-the-map … [Read more...]