Advent is a time of preparation for the coming of Christ. This story suggests a tradition that you can use to help your children prepare for the birth of Christ by filling an empty manger with straw. Continue reading Filling the Manger with Straw
The open question at the end of the book is “Will Jonah actually change?” The book doesn’t tie things up in a nice tidy bow, but leaves things hanging with a question that must be answered by both Jonah and also ourselves. God asks us, “And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?” Continue reading Under the Gourd Vine
“To be forgiven is only half the gift. The other half is that we also can forgive, restore and liberate.” Marilynne Robinson Continue reading The Gift of Forgiveness
What happens you make false assumptions that keep you from seeing the beauty around you?
I once spent a disappointed winter mistaking goldfinches at my feeder for sparrows. However, with time and patience I finally perceived their true nature. Continue reading The Goldfinch in Winter
“And then, one day, I was praying, sincerely asking God for some clarification about a sin that didn’t apply to me. And I imagined God the Father – God, my Parent – saying, “Jenn, does this apply to you? How about you stay in your lane? How about you worry about you and let me worry about them? Your job is to love them. My job is to be God to them.” Continue reading Staying In My Lane — Jenn Abel
Today is All Saints Day, a day to remember those women and men who have set us an example of faithfulness and trust. Our scripture lesson this morning introduces us to one such faithful saint, the widow of Zarephath. You might be interested to know that in his very first sermon, delivered in his hometown of Nazareth, Jesus singles her out as a woman of faith who was chosen and blessed by God. If Jesus has such a high regard for her, perhaps we should learn more about her and her faith, for she is one of those saints that we celebrate on this day. Continue reading An Unlikely Saint: The Widow of Zarephath ( I Kings 17: 8-24)
by Pastor Mike Weber
The thoughts, prayers, and brain-dumps of a Presbyterian pastor-mom
[the stars]
Musings & Meditations
conversations about Jesus and community
I am an artist and illustrator. And these “episodes” are quick sketches of and stories about people that I meet or have met over the years. I do the drawings first, keeping them simple and spontaneous but (hopefully) sophisticated. They are with perhaps one or two exceptions, line drawings done with a fine-line pen. I started doing these drawings in business meetings. That expanded to doing them in waiting rooms or while traveling, as a way to remember the people I met, worked with, or just observed from afar. Once I’d done a number of these sketches, I began to wonder about the people they depict. What might they be really like on the inside? What are their dreams? Their fears? Their secrets? Since I did not know the people I was drawing (or because I did not know them well), I felt ill-at-ease about asking personal questions. And so, I began to create stories about these people, based on what I imagine their life is like. That way, each drawing became a kind of psychological adventure; I never knew, when I sat down to write, what I was going to find. Like the drawings themselves, the stories are not to scale or photographic. If there is any prevailing theme, it is this: people keep their inner world well-hidden and probably for damn good reason. A secondary theme: making stuff up is much more fun than reality. And in a way, that is the real truth in all this. If you would like to learn more about me or my work please send a note. Our email: myron.gilbert@att.net
Celebrating what makes Brittany unique
exploring ideas - inspired by texts - expressed in images
Hannah's daily devotional
"Diamonds are found only in the dark places of the earth; truths are found only in the depths of thought." (Victor Hugo, Les Miserables)
thoughts on life, teaching, and faith
Searchings: Sacred and Secular
Essays, poetry, sermons and images to spark your own creativity.
Writing Down The Bones
Explorations in Practical Theology and Youth Ministry
Musings and Wonderment 