We now watched three seasons pass in our new home in our new-ish city. It is strange to think that you could know a place so well and then come back home only to realize how much it has changed…or maybe it’s how much you have changed? It has been so fun to watch our …
As we have settled into my hometown and the city where we met and fell in love, there have been waves of nostalgia and deja vu. These reminders that life loops back around were at first overwhelming having been taught by our culture that life is a hierarchy; a pursuit of climbing a ladder to …
Each year, I end the year reflecting on the word or phrase that has followed me throughout the year. I know this is backwards in some ways. Most people choose a word or mantra for the new year, but that’s never how it’s worked for me. Instead, as I move through the year, so too …
One of my favorite albums to listen to at Christmas is Carrie Underwood’s. The first track is called “Let There Be Peace,” and it’s always brought me back to center in the midst of the holidays because it reminds me that there are so many who aren’t at peace. During the holidays that is true …
Advent is a season of waiting and preparing. For those of us who celebrate, we find comfort in the predictable pattern of lighting the candles of hope, peace, joy, and love knowing that Christ will come again, but for those characters in the story there was so much waiting and preparing not knowing what would …
This week, we were invited to build and create our own Advent wreath. Our five-year-old make a plan for how the wreath would look and created a pattern with the berries. Our nine-year-old decided that it didn’t matter what order the greenery was in because it was all going to be below the candles. As …
Advent always starts with hope. The day that Advent begins rotates. The temperature varies from Advent to Advent, but this season of waiting and watching always starts with hope. This year as we decorated our tree and trimmed our house with greens and lights, we were also chasing a toddler around. It made the whole …
Yesterday marked a month since Hurricane Helene swept through the Upstate wreaking havoc in our community. As I was cleaning out my email on Friday, I found the email that informed parents and teachers that we were returning to normal schedule. As I reread that email, my mind protested. We might be going back to …
The last sermon series I preached as Pastor of Garden of Grace was called “Teaching from the Trees.” Now our days are filled with trees. Trees uprooted by the storm that have fallen into houses, into cars, and across streets. Trees being cut and trimmed to make way for new power lines to be strung …
