When Harry Potter studies spell making at Hogwarts, he has to get the words right. Incantations don’t work unless pronounced precisely. Yet, for all the effort of perfecting this art, the young wizard or witch harnesses real power. No wonder “magic” has seduced human imagination from ancient folklore to modern day fantasy.
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Once we’ve committed to pursuing the “musts” in our life and acknowledged that we can’t do them without God’s input, our next step involves figuring our how to ask for that help. In other words, we can’t go forward without engaging in prayer. But, it turns out that most of us feel at a loss about how…..
Last week I talked about choosing the internal “musts” over the external “shoulds” that vie for our time and treasure, but is that always a viable choice?
Philosopher Immanuel Kant’s asserted: “ought implies can,” meaning that if someone – God, society, etc. – places a moral imperative on us,…..
At a critical juncture in Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn, the title character has to decide once and for all whether to do the socially correct thing and turn in Jim, his traveling companion, or to, in his own words, “go to Hell” for the crime of assisting a runaway…..
I’m tired after Christmas. For those of us who take a primary role in orchestrating the holiday festivities, the Christmas aftermath arrives with a backorder of fatigue.
When I was younger, I often got sick by January – a clear sign that I wasn’t managing the workload as well…..
When we were children
Christmas was a time of Magic.
We did not understand
Its theology,
Or the history of its traditions,
But we could feel
What Christmas was about,
For the season spoke to us
In the language we knew best:
Dancing lights dazzled our eyes,
Merry carols…..
An Imagining of Mary’s sister, referenced in John 19:25
Mary and Joseph must be in Bethlehem by now. She could have the baby any day now.
It aches that they’ve left, that Mary won’t be here to have the babe. It meant so much to me to have all…..
This week I look at Mary’s courage in the making of that first Christmas.
An Imagining based on Luke 1:26-58; 2:1-5
When I was a little girl I remember so clearly my father talking about how much he wished the Lord would send His Messiah to us soon. Then, my mother would…..
Part of celebrating Advent is remembering that first Christmas and all the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ birth. In the piece below, I try to imagine what this time was like for Joseph.
An Imagining based on Matthew 1:18-25
I admit I was angry when Mary went off to visit her elderly relative…..
This past Thanksgiving week became an extra-special occasion with the November 21st birth of my third grandson. Now my week filled up with the combination of preparing for the feast and minding the two, newly made big brothers. Precious hours spent in my home, caring for these no-longer youngest…..