My aunt had a most beautiful, big Christmas cactus which filled her round dining room table. In early September, the rich, deep green cactus began budding and bursting into beautiful pink flowers, which bloomed right through Christmas and into the … Read more
Matthew, in his Gospel, gives us only the highlights of the incident of the wise men. We do not know how they banded together to travel as a group, and we must simply assume that they travelled by night to … Read more
It has always seemed strange to me that God sent an angel to the shepherds in the fields to announce the birth of the Christ Child. Weren't shepherds considered to be on the lower rungs of society? Their work kept … Read more
Travelling with children is always an exercise in patience. Whether we are going a short distance or taking a longer vacation, our trip is always punctuated by statements and questions from the back seat: "I'm hungry." "How much farther?" "When … Read more
As a new Christian, I have always found today's Scripture to be an intriguing verse. Just a few Sundays ago, our pastor used this verse in his sermon. This week I was given an opportunity to see this verse put … Read more
Many children in this world have only a gingerbread Christmas, making gingerbread houses, men, and cookies. We have all heard the childhood fable of the Gingerbread Man, and many of us have read it to our children. One Christmas I … Read more
Most Advent themes emphasize the preparations we are invited to make for the coming of our special baby — Jesus, born in Bethlehem. We clean the house and heart. We bake up a storm (maybe). We send out Christmas cards … Read more
Gift giving is a favourite pastime at our house, and at Christmas, most of all. We enjoy choosing something appropriate and wrapping it with beautiful paper and ribbons. It is so much fun to change the appearance with an odd-shaped … Read more
During the week, I have many little people coming and going — sometimes daily. What a blessing they are! I have a church ornament I put out only at Christmas time. The candle glowing in it shows the beautiful painted … Read more