Is Jesus the Son of God? Some say that such a thing is a “New Testament” idea. Yet 700 years before the birth of Jesus, the Old Testament prophet Isaiah made it clear this baby was more than an ordinary child... For the past four weeks, I’ve been looking at the four...
Four weeks of Advent – four names of the Christ-child from the prophet Isaiah. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”...
Father. A title that evokes joy or sadness, blame or gratitude, depending on your personal experience. One thing it does not evoke is indifference. Four weeks of Advent – four names of the Christ-child from the prophet Isaiah. And the third name is Everlasting Father....
Soft, adorable bundles of joy. Who doesn’t love sweet little babies? Vulnerable, helpless, and defenseless. They bring out the best in us, don’t they? Our instinct is to cuddle and protect them. To keep them safe and give them everything they need to stay healthy and...
Christmas is my absolute favorite time of year. Since most of my friends know this, they either feed my passion or tease me about it. Either way, I relish the four weeks of Advent as a time of joyful expectation as I count down the days until we celebrate the Savior’s...
Someone once said that the worst moment for an atheist is when he is really thankful and has no one to thank. I don’t know if that’s true, since I’m not an atheist, but... I do know that I do have Someone to thank. Someone who is the source of every blessing,...
There’s something heart-warming about giving or receiving a Thank You. When someone tells us thank you, we feel acknowledged, affirmed, and appreciated. We’re encouraged to go the extra mile, to keep on truckin’, and to persevere through inconveniences. When we tell...
It’s only November 2nd, but I’ve been playing Christmas carols for a few weeks. And I’m looking forward to the start of the Hallmark channel Christmas movie weekend marathon that will begin this Friday. Yup, I’m one of those people. 😳 Hi, my name is Ava and I’m a...
We can all breathe a sigh of relief. Another prediction for the end of the world has passed, unfulfilled. For some, it wasn't even a question. For others, it just proved that the real end will come in 2012. The end of the world seems to be an increasingly popular...
This past summer, I wrote a blog post about Convictions, Preferences, and Disagreements. I mentioned my concern that regardless of the topic, the art of civil disagreement in our culture has been replaced with uncontrolled vitriol. This week, Jim Daly, President of...
The People of Christmas: Those Who Worship We see them in most nativity scenes: three men off to the side,...
The People of Christmas: The Outsiders Filthy. Smelly. Not fit for decent society. Outsiders. Otherwise known...
The People of Christmas: The Antagonistic How could you believe in a God who allows bad things to happen to...