merri ellen g :)
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Lenten Reading for the First Sunday of Lent:
The 6 weeks before Easter is called the “Lenten season”. The word Lent is from an old English word related to “lenthen”, and meant springtime, when the days are lengthening. We use it to refer to the days between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. Lent is a process of prayer and spiritual renewal. Join me…
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Travel mugs in the rain
I’ve never been one for travel mugs. To me a travel mug seems like an oxymoron. To me, a hot drink is to be enjoyed when you sit still either alone with God or with a friend lingering together enjoying wonderful conversation. A travel mug to me speaks of rush and hurry without entirely slowing…
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Have You Missed It? Love Comes Down
God always takes the initiative in His love relationship with us. The trouble is too many of us miss His constant invitation to a most extraordinary relationship. We begin to philosophize it away, or deny it, or simply call it coincidence when anything good comes our way. It’s like we receive love letters constantly each…
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What Are You Expecting This Christmas? (4th Sunday in Advent)
This morning my family and I shared an Advent reflection I wrote one day as I pondered the expectation of the coming Messiah… Expectation Reader 1: We often look to Christmas with expectation: we may expect presents, or gatherings with family and friends, or gaining a few pounds, or laughter, we may even expect grief…
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O Come O Come Emmanuel (Prayer)
An Advent Prayer based on the Christmas Carol, “O Come O Come Emmanuel” Have you ever stopped to ponder the lyrics for “O Come O Come Emmanuel”? A few days ago I did stop to ponder in order to write the Welcome Prayer for our 4th Advent service this morning. First, here are the lyrics…
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Sabbatical Learnings: Lesson Two Was My Response to God, To Others
The second half of my sabbatical I asked God the question, “How can I possibly love you in return, Lord?” My thoughts went to the love languages and I asked God what His love language was, and how best I could love Him in return. I was reminded of how He says that to love…
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Sabbatical Learnings: Lesson One Wrecked Me
This first lesson of sabbatical completely wrecked me… I’ve heard that the greatest theologians of our time, who ponder all the wonderful questions of theology, are often impacted most deeply of the love of God. I use to smile at this knowing a preschooler could get it. Yet, the first half of my sabbatical I…
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Sabbatical Learnings: Solitude and Community
Over sabbatical, I pondered the fact that if we spent our lives in absolute solitude listening to Jesus, we could never take in all the richness of His wisdom and presence. Just as it has been penned that all that which Jesus did on earth has not all been written down, we could not comprehend…
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Daily Prompts With Jesus
While on sabbatical, I learned to practice the presence of God all through my day. I had learned about this over 20 years ago, but over sabbatical I got to dig in deeper. I put the following prompts in my phone to remind me… Others have adopted this and have found it a valuable practice.…
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It Begins With You and Your Family
“What you accomplish for God beyond your home will never be greater than what you typically practice with God within your home. What have you done in the past seven days to disciple your own family?” – Dr Timothy Paul Jones
Following and Trusting : Encountering God Out of the Box 