Believing Without Seeing: A Journey of Faith and Love

Advent continues, and Parish and I had time to listen together and discuss. The passage is from Matthew 9:27-31. Jesus heals blind men who cry out to him. They follow him into the house, and Jesus heals them. The question we discussed was how to relate our lives to that of the blind man. We…

Moments of Grace: Finding God in Daily Life

My husband and I decided to do Advent together using the Pray as You Go App. It’s such a wonderful experience with worship music, a passage, and reflection questions. The nice thing about the app is that we can listen at our own time and schedule, then chat later by text or in person. I’m…

Lessons from Advent: Embracing Life’s Transitions

Today is the first day of Advent. Advent is the anticipation and waiting for the coming of Christmas and the coming of Jesus. The word “Advent” originates from the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming,” “approach,” or “arrival.” It is derived from the Latin verb advenire, meaning “to come to.” In Church Latin, adventus specifically referred to…

Intentional Living: How to Expect and Embrace Blessings

Expect a blessing. That was the topic of the article I read as we prepare for the holiday season. Instead of counting our blessings, the author encouraged us to expect a blessing. I was chatting with a friend. I was curious to see how she would answer some questions in my new daily planner, and,…

Embracing God’s Relentless Pursuit

The presence of God is a profound mystery. He goes before us: Deuteronomy 31:8: NIV: The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. He is present at all times, past, present, and future: Psalm 139:5 You hem…

Living Stones

My father wrote a book titled “The Man Called Jesus.” I was thinking of his story from the perspective of the thief on the cross, as well as the exchange between him and Jesus from the cross. My study with Kristi McLelland emphasized the “we culture” in the early Church and the importance of viewing holiness in…

Finding Peace in the Present: A Bike Ride Reflection

Riding our bikes is a place of peace and a time to slow down. The smooth hum was instantly lost to the air. It was a planned afternoon on the Capital Trail with our granddaughter, Autumn, no pressing agenda, just the simple rhythm of turning pedals and teaching her to love nature and being outdoors….

Finding Healing and Hope in Prayer and Friendship

My current Bible study author noted that journaling is a way to share God‘s faithfulness. At the end of each year, she will spend three days reading through all her journal entries to contemplate God‘s faithfulness. As you know, this is a practice for me to write about what I’m learning in life, meaningful events,…

Treasures for a Lifetime

Gifts I Will Cherish Always Turning a new decade is always a moment for reflection, but this year, my 60th, was marked by the most profound gift: a letter from my daughter, Valentina. I know how much words matter, both to her and to me, and reading her acknowledgment of our journey has left me…

A Heartfelt Birthday Conversation with My Father

I was writing another post that I just saved and left. In the middle of my post, my Echo Show (Alexa) blurted out, “Message to Anna, Happy Birthday, Tom, Happy.” What? I did not set that to go off, and when I asked her who did this, she did not have an answer. I laughed…