Posts from November 2024

As we enter into Thanksgiving week, I have been reflecting how little “thanks” there seems to be in Thanksgiving.  Looking at my own life I realize that in many ways it has become the gateway between fall and Christmas.  I must confess that I hung our Christmas lights in October (won’t turn them on until Thanksgiving) and made an appointment to cut down our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving.  Kathy has already taken down her fall decorations in anticipation…

As we are approaching this advent season it is always a great time to take a moment to reflect on what we want to get out of advent. I know we each have traditions within our families that make the holidays so special, and Christmas never disappoints within our family. Growing up, Christmas was always a time that we spent with not only our immediate family, but our extended family as well.  Driving through the night in weather that we…

Turn your ear toward wisdom and stretch your mind toward understanding. Call out for insight, and cry aloud for understanding. Seek it like silver; search for it like hidden treasure. Then you will understand the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. (Proverbs 2:2-5)   A Bible podcast I listened to recently has led me to reflect on the nature of God’s wisdom. Wisdom is challenging to define. One dictionary defines wisdom as “the quality of having…

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. 1 John 4:18 (ESV)   Have you noticed how prevalent fear is in our culture? We don’t always call it fear, we offer different names for it—anxiety, panic, apprehension, dread, terror, these either elevate or minimalize the presence of fear but in the end it’s all fear and fear grips all of us. So how does love allay fear? First, it’s important to put the love we’re talking…