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3 Lessons From My Near Death Experience
Six years ago today, I was a buckled passenger in a severe car accident on the way to my grandmother’s funeral, resulting in many broken bones and a terrible brain injury. My recovery has been exhausting—using every ounce of my very determined being.
Perfect Rest
Tonight as I sit here writing, one of our family dogs lays curled up on the ottoman at my feet. I’m his favorite of all our family members, though—in…
5 Reasons I’m Looking Forward to Christmas
Ah, Christmas! Jolly Santas, white falling snow, reindeers and sleighs.
Well, not if you’re living in New Zealand. While our Northern European and American counterparts may be sipping mugs of hot cocoa and slipping into thick coats, Kiwis are busy gulping ice cold drinks and walking around town in jandals (rubbered slippers).
Geoff’s Story
Years of addiction and repeated recovery programs that didn’t have a lasting impact made Geoff feel like he had to live with a label: addict. But once he understood what Jesus had done for him and for all of us, Geoff received a new label: new creation in Christ.
God with Us
One year, because of a bereavement in our family, we celebrated a different sort of Christmas. Since we weren’t spending the holiday at home, we couldn’t devote…
How Can We Honor Jesus This Christmas?
Have you noticed that sometimes, Christmas can get controversial?
I’ve seen people yelling in the faces of workers at Walmart or other retail stores, just for saying “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.”
Are We Missing the Point of Christmas?
Have you noticed that sometimes, Christmas can get controversial?
I’ve seen people yelling in the faces of workers at Walmart or other retail stores, just for saying “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.”
Worship and Christmas
Last year, as we were headed to my sister’s house on Christmas Eve, my husband and I picked up a few last-minute items at a large grocery store. My musings on the variety of shoppers populating the store on this special…
How Was Jesus Both God and Man?
Christmas is fast approaching. It’s the time of the year when Christians commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I enjoy Christmas a lot, not just because it’s a time when we give and receive gifts, but especially because of the many beautiful Christmas carols we get to hear and sing.
Cradle, Cross, and Crown
What do you consider to be a good representation of Christmas? The potbellied Santa Claus? The nativity scene complete with baby, hay-filled manger, and donkeys? The iconic Christmas tree?…
What Christmas Is About
In Charles M. Schulz’s classic TV special A Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie Brown set out to buy a Christmas tree. As the play’s director, Charlie was determined that his theatrical work would not reflect the commercialization of Christmas that he saw…
5 Gift Ideas For A Meaningful Christmas
It’s that time of the year again when we have to think of the perfect Christmas gift for our friends! Have you ever wanted to give your friends and loved ones more meaningful Christmas presents—other than $1 notebooks that they might never use?
Mary’s Risky Calling
“May everything you have said about me come true” (Luke 1:38). With those words a young (probably teenage) Mary responded to the greatest discipleship call ever given. She had been chosen to give birth to the Son of God. The ramifications…
What It’s Like to Spend Christmas Alone
My earliest memories of Christmas were a mixture of joy and sadness. I grew up in Melbourne, Australia, where celebrating Christmas meant wearing bathing suits, eating barbeque shrimp and steak, spending the day around the backyard pool, and of course, the excitement of opening presents!
Looking
Having grown up in a nonliturgical denomination, I remember the first time my family celebrated Christmas with an Advent wreath. My dad, who was a pastor, had changed his denominational…
