The climax of the Christmas season will soon be here. This year a book that has directed my Advent focus is Light Upon Light: A Literary Guide to Prayer for Advent, Christmas and Epiphany (compiled by Sarah Arthur). One of the readings for the first week of Advent (“Incarnation” by Amit Majmudar) especially captured my… Continue reading Incarnation
Thank you to Irene Latham for rallying us to revive our Spiritual Journey Thursday meme, at least this once. We’re invited to reflect on our One Little Word choices for 2017. My 2017 word was / is MINDFULNESS. I am aware that there are psychological and, in some faiths, religious overlays to the word which… Continue reading Mindfulness at Christmas
Though we’re just starting December the First Sunday of Advent is already past and Christmas is in the air. Sarah Arthur’s Light upon Light (a book of readings for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany) recalled the beautiful song “Of the Father’s Love Begotten.” I first heard “Of the Father’s Love Begotten” sung by the Amadeus Children's… Continue reading “Of the Father’s Love Begotten”
Night Class I wake at night in the classroom with God go to His desk to watch Him marking my day. “Here,” He says, “see your anger when you were kept waiting your rudeness when disturbed your defensiveness when criticized? These are all places the theory you know in your head those textbook passages you… Continue reading Night Class
Do you have a collection of old Bibles in your house? We do. Old Bibles in various versions stand neatly on shelves in the basement. They can also be found stacked with other books on my bedside table, buried in trunks, and in my study. I've found a slim New Testament in an old purse… Continue reading The Longsuffering of Old Bibles (NPM ’16-Day 20)
I had a lovely experience of gratitude expressed to me last weekend. A bit of backstory. Years ago, it became customary for our church's small groups to discuss Sunday's sermon in their meetings. The church office provided sermon notes for that. In February of 2011, the pastor responsible for small groups asked me if I… Continue reading Gratitude (NPM ’16-Day 13)
What I experienced on Monday and Tuesday of this week was the perfect preparation to write about Bobbie Ann Taylor's one-little-word MERCIFUL. My husband and I were asked to be part of our church's delegation to the annual MLA*'s prayer breakfast, hosted at a hotel just steps away from B.C.'s Legislature in Victoria on Tuesday… Continue reading Prayer Breakfast Reflections (NPM ’16-Day 6)
Today we're talking about Donna's one-little-word, BOLD. My dictionary defines it as "1] having courage, fearless; 2] showing or requiring courage, daring, a bold plan; 3] presuming unduly, brazen, forward." When I think of bold, too often that third definition comes to mind. I don't want to have a pushy, brazen, putting-myself-forward boldness. But the… Continue reading Bold – I ask, “Why not?”
I love the one-little-word SIMPLIFY, Linda Kulp's word that we are exploring this week. (I think I will chose it one of these years.) I love a clean counter top in my kitchen, my desk cleaned off at the end of the day, Friday afternoons when all my house surfaces gleam after dusting. I love… Continue reading Fine Dining
I seem to have impatience in my DNA. WAIT—Holly Mueller's one-little-word for 2016—would probably be a good choice of a word for me one of these years. In the spiritual realm we've been told quite plainly to wait for God—to reveal the next step, to act on our behalf, to bring about His desired result,… Continue reading On the Threshold
Violet Nesdoly 