We’ve all experienced receiving an unexpected gift. Maybe it was from someone you did not buy a gift for. Maybe the value of a gift was far above and beyond anything you gave them. In these moments we feel utterly inadequate. We search for words, and shift uneasily. Simply receiving gifts is difficult for us […]
It is easy, and even understandable that one might gloss over the list of names in Matthew 1:1-17. It is a long genealogy but more importantly, it is a curated one. Subtly but intentionally, Matthew opens his story with the words: “The historical record of” (Mt 1:1 HCSB). Hearing this phrase calls to mind a […]
I want to incorporate more Christmas traditions into the life of my young family, but that is an abstract and vague goal, which until now, had no hope of fruition. As December 1st approaches, I mean well and have every intention of executing every fabulous Christmas idea I’ve pinned on Pinterest. Reality is I maybe […]
Christmas is usually focused on cheer. Everything is merry and bright. I don’t think in my 29 years of life I have ever experienced a Christmas with a dark cloud over it. I’m not sure it ever would have occurred to me to know where or how to begin to relate to someone in such […]