If you were a child in my house growing up, you spent Spring Saturday mornings in the yard. You would be picking weeds, mowing, or doing any other sort of lawn/outdoor chores. But most likely, you were picking weeds. There were a lot of weeds. We had big flower beds in our front yard and a garden in the back. Anyone who has an intimate relationship with pesky little growths in their flowerbeds knows that you really have to get deep down in the dirt around a weed if you want to… shall we appropriately say…nip them in the bud. Some weeds have roots that are surprisingly deep, and require a shovel to get the roots loose enough to pull out. I’m sure it was because I was trying to hurry through the task and just pick the leaves off the weeds, but my dad had to teach me that to really pick weeds, one had to get ALL the root too. Without digging deeply, that weed would be right back next Saturday.
The Soil of Community
In 2020 I became a “plant mom.” This might not sound ground-breaking, but I promise you, up to that point, I did not have a green thumb on either hand, as I had never kept a plant alive. However, in the fall of 2019, I bought a couple of plants at The Gift Goes On, with a promise from the seller, “these are nearly impossible to kill,” so I decided to try my hand at botany. Turns out, they were indeed easy to keep alive and the seed was planted in me to keep growing my plant collection - which to date includes 31 plant-babies. The secret, I discovered, is threefold: healthy soil, correct watering, and appropriate placement.
24 Essentials in 2024: The Good News of the Gospel
What I love most about a new year is the opportunity to start afresh. I am old enough to remember the joy of getting a new paper calendar for the year, with blank monthly pages just begging for new plans. I still love to start the year with a new journal filled with empty pages of possibility. No matter what the year before held and how faithful I was with my time and opportunities, a new year reminds me that I can start again.
Once and Again: The Lamb of God
The final verse of “Once and Again” refers to Jesus as “the Lamb of God.” Sheep are interesting creatures. In the wild of these Central Asian mountains I am looking out from right now, I see (and smell) herds upon herds of sheep of every shape and size. In this part of the world, one comical and notable feature of sheep is their distractingly large rumps consisting of pure fat. When they run into roads, traipse over busy train tracks, and foolishly trip along obviously dangerous mountain paths, their massive rumps and tiny brains tumble along.
Once and Again: Making All Things Well
For weeks, I have found myself humming or singing the new Advent song, “Once and Again.” Whether I am working at my computer, buying presents, running errands, wrapping gifts, hosting, or doing any of the myriad of things women do during the holidays, I find myself singing these lyrics. The biblical truths they proclaim has made them the melody line to my Christmas, reminding me over and again of the redemptive gifts of Advent: Jesus has come and He is coming again!
Once and Again: Our Worthy Lamb
Theology and music. These two words make my heart sing. Is there any better song than one that is written with a biblically accurate text set to a beautiful tune? Douglas O’Donnell notes, “We are to sing to the Lord as he is revealed in Scripture. We are to sing of his name. We are to sing of his person. We are to sing of his works. We are to magnify him and him alone!” How blessed we are as a church to be able to sing “Once and Again” this Advent season, which allows us to sing about our trinitarian God as He is revealed in Scripture.
Once and Again: Jesus, Our Messiah
The advent season is upon us, and we know in our busy bones that this means we should pause to reflect – pause the shopping, pause the planning, just pause, and be with Jesus. If you’re anything like me, this can feel like being pulled in two directions. Being still in this whirlwind of a season can feel like mixing oil and water! I find this especially true as a public school music teacher – a typical December week looks like three school concerts, three to four rehearsals, and a personal gig or two. Everybody’s busy looks different! But no matter what your busy is, when you stop to consider the season, pressing pause in a full schedule is oil and water to the soul.
Once and Again: Our Advent Season
Advent is a special season. Through lighting candles, Advent calendars, Bible reading plans, nativity scenes and more, we celebrate Advent by reflecting on Christ’s birth and His second coming. Our savior came once, in the birth of Christ. And He will come again, in the second coming described in Revelation.