Christmas is a season, not just one day As much as I love the Muppets singing with John Denver in this scratchy YouTube video*, lately when I hear The 12 Days of Christmas I'm reminded the song isn't about the season of Christmas at all but actually …
The Church Year
3 Ways to Avoid Crashing This Christmas
If Starbuck's has their pumpkin spice lattes on the menu, Christmas can't be too far around the corner, right? Witness this stack of boxes stashed out of the way at my local Sbux store. (The blurred print on the label says, "Open after November …
5 Favorite Things About Fall
There are so many reasons I love this time of year--it's hard to choose, but here are my top five: Pumpkins Who knew there were white pumpkins and bumpy pumpkins and sorta-blue pumpkins and well, all manner of heirloom squash family members?? …
Worry & Wonder–Holy Week
"Only in those moments of vivid experience that made her come alive was she at home in her own country." --Marianne in Green Dolphin Country, Elizabeth Goudge, Hodder & Stoughton, 1944 Friend T and I were chatting on Instagram the other day …
How to Lent-Spiritual Practice for the Rest of Us
The city of New Orleans has a singular reputation for “laissez les bon temps rouler” (“let the good times roll”) no matter what time of year. During Mardi Gras, though, the celebrations take on an over-the-top frenzy that is hard to match. It is also …
Merry Christmas, Dear Readers
It seems very fitting that Christmas Eve should be on a Sunday, when we gather for worship, wherever that is. A morning to set our hearts right in a posture of worship and thankfulness is a good way to ease into the gift giving and receiving …
How to Make the Days Count {Celtic Advent}
Have you found that when God shows you something there are "sacred echoes" (as Margaret Feinberg calls them) everywhere? When I wrote "Living the Season Well-Reclaiming Christmas" I shared with readers about observing the four Sundays of Advent to …