Bible at Home

In leading us to a table at a local restaurant the hostess led us past a booth that was decorated with a lovely bouquet of roses. I asked what the occasion could be, and she answered, “Oh, that booth has been reserved by a young man for later this evening. He said that he is…

Once while I was still living in New York State, I traveled to Mexico City, and among other adventures visited the zoo there. I was surprised to see in the aviary, cardinals and blue jays in cages. It seemed “normal” for me to stare at every other creature, but I couldn’t help feeling that these…

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17) Advent is the season of anticipation of a wonderful, and, indeed “good and perfect” gift. Sometimes we get sidetracked and focus on the “gifts” we will receive and give instead of…

In A Grief Observed, C.S. Lewis wrote that one of the surprises in experiencing grief, is how very similar grief is to fear, in one’s life. When fear and grief come together, they deepen our sadness and sense of loss. I believe that fear, in fact, attaches itself to any large or small change in…

Next week begins the season of Advent in the Christian Calendar. For some churches it is entirely ignored; for others, it’s a time of feasting, with advent calendars holding sweets for each day, and parties and celebrations. For others, it’s a significant fast , eliminating meat and dairy foods for the four weeks until Christmas.…

Thanksgiving One evening Jack received a phone call and talked at length before ending it; and turning to me with a dazed look, he said, “The Lord really wants me to be an usher at church.” He had been called earlier and invited to usher and so had been showing up every Sunday for a…

Feed My Sheep Jacob said, “Behold, the sun is still high. It is not time for the flocks to be gathered. Water the sheep and take them back to pasture.” “We can’t,” they replied, “until all the flocks are gathered and the stone has been rolled away from the mouth of the well. Then we…

Growing up reading or listening to fairy stories, I was attracted mostly to stories of poor shoemakers who fell asleep at their bench and and woke up in the morning to find that elves or fairies or an angel had come in the night and completed the work, to their very great joy, and prosperity.…

To have an albatross tied around your neck means walking through life with a heavy burden impeding your movement and very freedom. It’s an expression that comes from sailors who witnessed the albatrosses when at sea and saw their very large size and remarkable ten-to-twelve foot wingspan. They noticed, too, that the birds fly for…

Holly is the name of my younger, though not youngest sister. We are quite close in age, and in growing up she has been an inspiration in many ways. When Holly was a young mother of three toddlers, and living in New Jersey, her husband Tom took a good job in Illinois and they arranged…