Here is a classic re-post from eleven years ago. The decorations around the Inn this year are beautiful. A fire burns in the huge fireplace in the lobby. We are warm, happy and secure. But I remember a difficult Christmas when we had no tree or decorations. The children were complaining about it so I […]
The Perfect Christmas
Christmas is never going to be perfect As long as earth suffers under the curse, But Jesus is always present And Jesus is always perfect. -Ken Pierpont
Lots to Look Forward To
I was writing up a little piece from my memory of my boys yesterday and it reminded me of this amazing photo of our grandson Leland–yes this is really our grandson–he is not a child model. I love how his little breath shows up in the picture. I wonder what the future is going to […]
It’s Christmas. Open Your Heart
When I was a boy I sold stuff door-to-door, mowed lawns, shoveled walks, and delivered papers to make money. I don’t know if that was so much because of my own diligence as it was a reflection of my parents determination to train diligence into me. They were always trying to figure out ways to […]
Preparing My Heart for Advent
I’m preparing my heart for advent preaching. I’ve often said that I am a student. I am a careful and diligent student, but I am not a scholar. I respect scholars and I depend on Spirit-gifted scholars, but I am not a scholar. I like to think of myself as a pastor-poet. David was a […]
This Christmas We Will Adopt A Seven-Year-Old Again
I’m speaking tomorrow for a Christmas Banquet. it got me thinking and reading old Christmas essays. I stumbled across this paragraph: “Through the long warm days of seven summers it has stood on that pleasant hillside. On the fresh rain of seven springs it thrived. Seven winters flocked its branches with snow. And the geese […]