"No ear may hear His coming,but in this world of sin,where meek souls will receive Him still,the dear Christ enters in." A storm of blackbirds descending on the neighborhood and chattering in the trees Climbing into our big, dark attic and Jared hanging my porch swing Early morning Bible study and conversations by the fire … Continue reading Christmas Paperwhites & a Porch Swing
One December, a few weeks before Christmas, I went down to the square of my hometown to pass out flyers for a Christmas event at my church. I grew up several miles outside of town, so I didn’t frequent the block very often, except for the parade on Memorial Day every year. All the shops … Continue reading O Little Town
This piece was written for the December issue of our church's newsletter, Grace & Peace. One day a few years ago, I found myself sitting on the first floor of a doctor’s building, talking to a lady named Darlene. It was a few weeks before Christmas, and rain was blowing against the big windows, wet … Continue reading In the Waiting Room
"Running to the window, Scrooge opened it, and put out his head. No fog, no mist; clear, bright, jovial, stirring, cold; cold, piping for the blood to dance to; Golden sunlight; Heavenly sky; sweet fresh air; merry bells. Oh, glorious! Glorious!" ~ Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol The first snow---long, quiet, and cold Tramping down the … Continue reading Feasting, Fiddling, & the First Snow
When I was six years old, my dad took me to visit a man in the hospital whose name was Kirk. Kirk was one of Dad’s closest friends. They had a Paul and Timothy kind of brotherhood, where Kirk had broken free from a stormy past and become one of Dad's greatest mentors in the … Continue reading Visiting Kirk
Last night, my niece, Elsie, showed me a picture of what her new baby brother or sister might look like in the womb. It is just nine weeks tiny, with black eyes and hands and feet poking their way outward. “The baby is the size of an olive,” Elsie said. I tried to imagine holding … Continue reading The Size of an Olive
"Now birds that sleep in brittle trees, Sparrows and jays and chickadees,The last, last robin, and the crow,Awake beneath your thatch of snowAnd hearing bells of midnight ringRouse up and through the darkness singHow in your dreams across the snows,A star, bright as a sun, arose." ~ Elizabeth Coatsworth, Woods' Litany Good things in December: … Continue reading Downtown Lights & Christmas Loaves
I saw you all honey-haired in the golden light of the cattle stall, like motes of lit dust in the world--- little, but alive with the breath of God Himself and watching the cow heave and steam and give her milk between your fingers, as your own mama had given hers to you, and as … Continue reading Dust Motes
On Waiting, Hunting, & Courtship “Come back and see us,” she said. “We’ll be here.” And as we turned in our coats to go, she caught me once more: “And enjoy yourselves. Have fun.” This was just after she’d said she was bored of bingo, and couldn’t they offer more activities for the long, dark … Continue reading Late In Time
"For the people who were shoveling away on the housetops were jovial and full of glee; calling out to one another from the parapets, and now and then exchanging a facetious snowball... laughing heartily if it went right and not less heartily if it went wrong." ~ Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol Good things in … Continue reading Skates & Christmas Mittens
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