Inside the Minds of Valerie and Mike (and Anna)
As we enter this Advent season, I'm finding it difficult to contemplate what is down the road for the next four years (and beyond). Like so many folks, I feel betrayed by so many of my countrymen that wear the banner of patriotism while espousing ideas that are so far from why I am proud... Continue Reading →
Home…this year’s reflection focus for Advent and the season of Christmas. Sounds pretty light and comforting doesn’t it? Except that the concept of home can bring a range of emotions, conjure a variety of memories, and is experienced is different ways physically, emotionally, and spiritually at different times of our lives and around the globe.... Continue Reading →
Day 6, half way through the season of Christmas. Yes, the 12 days of Christmas are real, just not what is in the popular song. It’s Christmas 2020, so it’s been a weird one…subdued, smaller, a mixture of beginnings and endings. And in both good and bad ways, more of the same. Over the course... Continue Reading →
Have we lost our ability to wonder?Is it not enough to understand just enough to be amazed?Sometimes knowing leads to awe.Sometimes, it removes all mystery, leaving a hollowness.Can I be okay with the not knowing?As one poet writes…live the questions.Maybe we need to live the mystery, live the wonder.Watch and wait while wondering.I do not... Continue Reading →
Advent Vespers at Home It’s Advent. It’s the end of an unusually tough calendar year. It’s the beginning of a new liturgical year for the church. It will also soon be a new calendar year. Advent is a season pregnant with hope. It’s a liminal time of watching, waiting, and wondering (this year's theme for... Continue Reading →
Last year, Advent started with a weekend retreat focused on choosing hope, peace, joy, love, and life. It truly was life-giving even if it was a full and tiring weekend; and it carried into the whole season. This year, Advent carries some weight of Lent. Maybe that Lenten feeling is connected to a realization from... Continue Reading →
In a political climate where those who hold power seem totally unconcerned with the voice of the "little guy," I take a little bit of comfort in knowing that institutions like NPR give an opportunity for our voices to be heard at some level. SaveSave SaveSave
Zechariah 2:5 (note this only works in certain translations, including KJV and MSG, not NIV) SaveSave SaveSave
What a perfect daily word for me on a Monday. The scout moto is "Be Prepared." So, I obviously took a photo of our scouts preparing for our weekly meeting as the SPL (senior patrol leader) reads the weekly announcements. In a minute, I will give instructions preparing them for this weekend's "camping" trip. Scouting... Continue Reading →
Today’s photo may be a head scratcher as to how it ties to the word for the day... The discussions around the table all had some connection to the theme of memory/remembering. At one end of the spectrum of topics was a tutorial on setting up a password keychain on your iPhone. At the other... Continue Reading →
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