Many images accompany Christmas — fun and frolic, snow and decorations, laughter and family gatherings — images so ingrained in most people’s minds that they find it difficult to imagine the holiday any other way. Yet, in truth, Christmas only recently became the festive holiday we now cherish. For almost fifteen hundred years, the observation…
Prayer
The Spirit Prays for Us
One lesson we learn from seasons of pain, darkness, and doubt is that when we’re hurting, a person’s presence with us is far more significant than any words he or she might say. Just having someone sit silently next to us when life is hard communicates genuine love and concern. Besides, when we’re hurting, we…
Bible
We Live Between the Advents
We live between the Advents. The Second Advent will include the sudden, personal, visible, bodily return of Christ. Jesus promised, “I will come again” (John 14:3 RSV). The author of Hebrews declared, “Christ . . . will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting…
Women
Fiction Friday: Christmas Stories
Gabriel’s Questions Gabriel must have scratched his head at this one. He wasn’t one to question his God-given missions. Sending fire and dividing seas were all in an eternity’s work for this angel. When God sent, Gabriel went. And when word got out that God was to become man, Gabriel was enthused. He could envision…
Men
The Dude’s Guide to Marriage: Listening to Your Wife
Husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way. — 1 Peter 3:7 Women like it when you listen to them. They are funny that way. My wife often asks if I hear what she says: “Are you really listening to me?” Many times I’m not. I mean, I am, but I’m not. I…
Family
Christmas Traditions That Keep Christ In Christmas
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a Son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). – Matthew 1:23 Every year, as my husband and I plan our Christmas activities for the season, my mind cannot help but wander down memory lane to reflect upon Christmas’s past. I am flooded with…
