This year, I type this story on my work computer that shouldn’t be on the dining room table; I have been working from home since March. At this time of year, this table should be in preparation for guests to gather and celebrate the birth of our Savior. But, it’s my office, and no one will be joining us.

 

I reflect that even though our world is turned upside down, and the gatherings w …

As long ago as I can remember, my most memorable time during the Christmas season always took place after the Christmas tree was set up and decorated. You see, we had this white feathery angel that topped our artificial Christmas tree. (Mom was allergic to pine). With the colored lights and the angel’s feathers, somehow a picture of Jesus in the manger was shown on the ceiling with a luminous glow. I …

My husband and I had the opportunity to visit Israel for ten days on an Air Force Chapel Tour in 1984, while stationed in Germany. After visiting the church of the Nativity and the traditional birthplace of Jesus in Bethlehem, we purchased an olive wood creche and proudly took it home to share with our children Chad and Tauni. Every Christmas it became the center of our Christmas worship and celebration. (And st …

This year will be the first time since 1226 A.D. that the Christmas star has appeared. The star is created by the alignment of the planets Jupiter and Saturn. It is supposed to occur on the winter solstice, December 21, 2020. https://astronomy.com/news/2020/12/jupiter-and-saturn-will-form-rare-christmas-star-on-winter-solstice

 

Back in our elementary school years, my sister and I were a …

This year is the first time in several years that I will be hosting our family Christmas celebration, and I decided to decorate a Christmas tree after not doing this for a few years. Unboxing the Christmas tree ornaments, and the memories associated with many, I found two ornaments that have survived since Jim and I celebrated our first Christmas as a married couple (a clump of plastic mistletoe, and a white bel …

It was discouraging to realize that “kids” I used to babysit for were getting married, and I didn’t even have a boyfriend. My mom was afraid I would be an old maid, too. I was 27, and she had married at 17, right out of high school. I said, “Mom, most of the guys my age are in the bars. Is that where you want me to look for a husband? And, I’m NOT going church to church to find a Christian man. We’re going to ha …

During the craziness of this past year with Covid, political turmoil, social unrest, and the list goes on, I think often about the possibility that this could be the beginning of the end. Surely, Christ’s return must be soon. Yet, I am certain that generations past felt the same way when World War II broke out, or during the gas crisis, or when the stock market crashed. I think about how God tells us in his wo …

As a younger adult, I went through a time of considerable isolation that led to depression and a host of self-destructive behaviours. At one point, I was so miserable and hopeless that I laid down on my kitchen floor crying, pleading with God that, “I need help!” I really was a hopeless mess with no idea what to do to turn things around…except plead with God.

 

A couple days l …

It was the night of the first ever Christmas. A bright light accompanied singing as bright and exciting as itself. The light and singing startled a cluster of shepherds resting around their fire on the Bethlehem hillside.

 

Frightened and clutching at each other’s coats, the shepherds relaxed to hear comforting words from the chief angel: “Don’t be afraid! The Savior, the Messiah of God, …

I once took a comparative literature class at OSU and as a part of that class was required to read the play “Waiting for Godot” by Samuel Beckett. The play consists primarily of a dialog between two men who are waiting by a tree along a country road for a man named Godot. A couple of men stop by, but neither is Godot, and two boys also come by on two different days. Both boys claim they work for God …