This is a familiar passage from a well-known story of 2000 years ago. Fast forward to today: You have just sent a tweet which features a picture of a majestic star: Fellow scientists and academics, we have been charting the course of …( read more )

A workplace tradition at Christmas is the practice of assigning each employee the name of another co-worker to be given an anonymous gift. Our office has made our own version of the Secret Santa game: we are to choose a small gift that our …( read more )

Epiphany is observed on January 6th, twelve days after Christmas, to remember the Magi who came looking for King Jesus to worship Him following His divine birth. The Magi brought Him three gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh. They were …( read more )

Christmas Day had been a letdown. Anticipation of the day had given way to disappointment over gifts not received, specifically a Toni doll. As advertised on television, this doll came with curlers for her blond hair that could be used …( read more )

When we toured Israel as a group, our faith was reinforced as our experienced leader, a Christian minister, many times supplemented our Jordanian guide's orations of what we were seeing by telling us of further connections between these …( read more )

Perhaps this Christmas, you'll be giving at least one present because you feel obligated. Your better judgment reminds you that gift-giving should come from your heart, not from someone's expectation. However, if you had been the Magi …( read more )

Each Christmas, we acknowledge a royal birth. Baby Jesus was, after all, born to be King. He was destined for a throne "far above all rule and authority, power and dominion." (Ephesians 1:21 NIV) What can be said about royal births? …( read more )

I had once given up on making New Year's resolutions, because I never kept them. I now realize that the problem was that I had not consulted the Lord. They were my ideas of what I should do, or what other people thought! The image of a …( read more )

If there's one thing that I've learned when I am in the corral cleaning up, whether it be summer or winter, it's to be deliberately conscious of my step, for the corral is fraught with perils. Brush, broken branches, rock, and uneven …( read more )

I can remember as if it were just yesterday the anticipation of the arrival of the Sears Wish Book. Growing up, we lived in the country, so trips into the larger city were few, especially in the winter. This, I believe, added to the …( read more )

Ever since I was a youngster on the platform in our one-room, country school, along with about twelve children of varied ages and grades, I have enjoyed Christmas pageants. At the age of ten or eleven, I was the chosen angel Gabriel, and …( read more )

I learned to text, only to discover that the cell phone fancied itself a prophet. This is called predictive texting. Whenever I punched in a letter, it finished the word for me. Thus, I sent messages full of words like "spzxq". The last …( read more )

What if this Christmas we specifically celebrated Baby Jesus as the promised Shepherd and made shepherds our season's theme? What would that be like for you? Here's what I imagine: I see a Christmas tree decorated with fluffy sheep, …( read more )

My new Alpine goat, Agnes, is a milking goat, which has been a very interesting experience for me. Sophie, my two-year-old retriever, also found Agnes very interesting in an amusing way, at least for a time. Sophie loved nothing better …( read more )

The situation in the world today where so many people are fleeing for their lives from war and terrorism, searching for a safe home, reminds me of Jesus' family fleeing for their lives to Egypt in ancient times. Jesus was born and placed …( read more )

One year, my husband and I gave our children a telescope for Christmas. It was a gift that the whole family enjoyed as we took turns observing the beautiful night-lit sky. This experience reminded me of King David's words: Then, I …( read more )

It started with a tiny hand — a hand outstretched and holding a miniature bar of goat milk soap. Of all the different fragrances offered on the vendor's autumn display table that sales day, my petite, five-year-old niece, Izzie, was …( read more )

Whenever I hear of the description "wise men" given to the magi, I immediately think of a very elderly Christian gentleman who attended my church and who had printed in large letters on his small suitcase the words, "Wise men are still …( read more )

Last year, my son was asked to participate in leading a special "Blue Christmas" service at our church. It is held every year before the holidays to comfort those in mourning. The message emphasizes the Lord's understanding of our …( read more )

As I see Christmas approaching, I am reminded of the preparations that have made the season special in our home. One such preparation was to go to a Christmas tree farm where we would choose our tree, and have it cut down and mounted on …( read more )

On December 14, 2012, the city of Newtown, Connecticut, USA, was shaken by the news of a gunman entering Sandy Hook Elementary School and killing 26 children and adults. Whenever such a tragedy occurs, it seems that we find ourselves …( read more )

A couple of years ago during Advent, I became fascinated with the angels in the Christmas story. It's no accident that angels have become a popular Christmas decoration. Here is a summary of what I found in the scriptural reports of angels …( read more )

On January 6th, many in the Spanish culture celebrate what is known as El Dia De Los Tres Reyes Majos or Three Kings Day. As a child, I was amazed to hear my mother tell stories of how she observed … (read more)

As a small child, I had a fascination with angels, probably because whenever a nightmare woke me, my mother would come and pray for God to send His angels to guard me. Then she would say, "Darling, just look at … (read more)

We've approached a time of bustle — shopping, baking, holiday greetings, and home for Christmas. Why? Why are we celebrating Christmas? How would the average person answer that question? Tradition? Family? Love for hearth and home? Let's go back to … (read more)

We get the weather report sent to us every morning on our computer, and when there is bad weather ahead, we receive "Warnings Direct" for our area. We often receive repeated warnings of impending bad weather conditions. This morning's warning … (read more)

Through the many years of directing Christmas pageants, I have been intrigued by the wise men or magi. Reflecting on the purpose of the magi's visit, one wonders what their divine place in this magnificent birth story was. People assume … (read more)

I would have been around eight years old as one particular Christmas was approaching. We lived in the Parkdale area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Our old rented house on Roncesvalles Avenue was a quaint house, as I remember it, with … (read more)

In Matthew's gospel, we have a mere capsular account of one of the most miraculous happenings in the history of mankind and the world. Not only did a new star appear in the heavens at the precise moment in time … (read more)

Some fifty years ago, some people gave of their very special family time, their talents, and their gifts to bring the joy of Christmas to a very mixed group of strangers, whom they would never see or contact again for … (read more)

When I am on guard duty at our local jail, I often play the word game Scrabble

For years, prior to Christmas, we have filled a special box for a child. It is a joy to do it, for I do not have grandchildren of my own on which to lavish my love. Instead, I think of … (read more)

Even as early as a month or more beforehand, the throbbing has already begun! The very air has begun to feel charged with excitement and joy, for Christmas is on its way. The approaching celebration of the birth of baby … (read more)