One day is not enough to celebrate the birth of God’s son – the amazing gift of Jesus, aka “Emmanuel” which means “God-with-us.”   One day is just not enough to celebrate, give thanks, and let sink into our hearts the wonder of the gift of God’s presence in Jesus.  So traditionally twelve days were celebrated – a good biblical number which means the complete amount needed, the full amount, the perfect amount, as in the twelve disciples or the twelve tribes of Israel.  So twelve days is the perfect number of days to celebrate Jesus’ birth.   Now we all know...

December 18 – Advent 4 Delight. Joy. Mystery. Wonder. Awe. Amazement. Love. That`s what a baby’s birth is all about. Sometimes there are challenging circumstances that surround the baby`s birth. Sometimes there are medical concerns for baby or mother. Most often we can celebrate  by welcoming the baby with love that overflows our hearts and joy that is indescribable.   Jesus` birth was more than that.  He came as a gift to the whole wide world.  Yes, his parents adored him and smiled the big smiles of new parents, in spite of his birth in a barn far from their home...

Books about faith and Christmas to give to children & grandchildren. Selected from Susan’s library, some may only be available used.   Pre-School “The Animals’ Christmas Eve” by Gale Wiersum (Golden Book, 1977) “Bless Us All: A Child’s Yearbook of Blessings” by Cynthia Rylant (Simon & Schuster 1998) “The Christmas Fox” by Anik McGrory (Knopf 2016) “Christmas in the Barn” by Margaret Wise Brown (Harper 2016)  “Jesus’ Christmas Party” by Nicholas Allan (Random House 1991) “The Lord’s Prayer” by Rick Warren & Richard Jesse Watson (ZonderKidz 2010) “Room for a Little One” by Martin Waddell (Simon & Schuster 2004)  “What Can I Give...

December 11 – Advent 3 Giving isn’t a natural thing.  Oh, I know you could tell me about that spontaneous moment when your heart overpoured with love and you just had to give something special to someone. But I still believe that giving isn’t natural to human beings.  If it were, we wouldn’t have the top 1% of the world’s people controlling over 50% of the world’s wealth and resources.  If giving were natural, then we wouldn’t have hunger, homelessness or refugees.  There are enough resources in the world so that no one needs to be hungry or homeless, but sharing...

Christmas is a spiritual celebration, not an economic or secular one.  So how do we keep the spiritual aspect of the celebration?  How do we not lose focus in the midst of buying gifts, planning meals, and attending various programs and parties? All those things are meant to add to the spirit of celebration, but if we have forgotten why we are celebrating, then they are just more work and emotionally & physically draining.  We need to remember why we do these things, and let go of those that don’t add to the spiritual celebration of Christmas, the ones that don’t...

November 27 – Advent 1 It is hard to keep our spiritual, emotional and physical bearings during the season of Advent. The word “Advent” means “coming” and this season of 4 weeks is meant to help us prepare our spirits for the coming of Jesus, the celebration of his birth. Advent is meant to help us re-focus and re-centre our spirits, so that we are rooted and grounded in God’s love.   Yet is so easy to lose our way.  We long to arrive, on Christmas Eve, at that idyllic, peaceful place, which we imagine Bethlehem was, with stars shining in...

Maybe you’ve heard of the word “hygge.”  It has been added to the Oxford English Dictionary this year and was considered for its word of the year. (“Post-truth” won!)   Hygge, pronounced hooga or hyuga, comes from Danish and means “a quality of cosiness and comfortable conviviality that engenders a feeling of contentment or well-being.”   As I heard the definition of hygge, I couldn’t help thinking of the Jewish and Christian practice of Sabbath.  Sabbath is a time of rest, a time of refraining from work or daily tasks, a time of trusting that God can take care of the world...

Jesus was quite clear: anyone can love those who love them. That’s easy, and that wasn’t what he expected of his followers. He expected more.  Love your neighbour, whoever they are, whether or not you think they are good and kindly. Love the stranger in your midst, reach out with a generous welcome. Love your enemy, do good to those who hate you. Don’t judge: treat them with respect & kindness.  Share what you have with them.   In the current political and social climate, not just in North America but around the world, we need to live these teachings of...

Are you a worrier?  Are your kids worriers? What can you do with those worries? Worry is like a worm that eats away at our lives, consuming the joy, the love, the delight, the wonder, and the hope that we should enjoy in our daily lives. I’ve known brides who were so wound up with worry about the details of their wedding day that they didn’t enjoy the wedding or even remember it afterwards.  I’ve known parents who are so tense with worry about what might happen to their children that they missed the wonder of their child’s first steps or...

Why bother reading a book that is so old and has stories about people who lived 2,000 to 6,000 or more years ago?  What can anything in the Bible have to say to us today?  The Bible was written in pre-industrial times, so what can it say to us who live in the midst of a technological boom?  Isn’t the Bible obsolete, though it does have a few nice phrases?   Actually, the Bible does have a great deal to say to us today.  I love reading the Bible, even the stories that at first are difficult or hard to understand....