Most Christmas Eve services I’ve attended (and I’ve attended a lot!) have included the hymn Joy to the World! I love the exuberance of this hymn: Joy to the world, the Lord is come!Let earth receive her King;Let every heart prepare Him room,And heaven and nature sing. Joy to the World, written by Isaac Watts,…
Lately, I’ve talked with many who are fighting to keep their joy. Anxiety and a sense of heaviness seem to be hanging in the air. Some are exhausted from emergencies, some are worried about the future, some are just feeling anxious as they watch world events unfold. Where is joy in the midst of the…
Wowza! I’ve heard a lot of heavy stories recently: friends with family members dying, scary health diagnoses, and broken relationships. We all need a little happy, don’t we? God doesn’t promise that our lives will be free from sorrow. In fact, quite the opposite, Jesus told us that in this world we will have sorrow…
I love the holidays! The lights, decorating the tree, the gifts… ah, I love the whole thing. However, I realize there are many for whom the holidays bring profound sadness. Perhaps because of lost loved ones or broken dreams, when the holidays roll around, anxiety and depression increase. Recently in my early morning time with…
Labor Day weekend in Colorado Springs is amazingly fun! There’s an airshow with “jumpers” from the Air Force. We have the Labor Day Lift Off where thousands of hot air balloons fill the sky. It is truly an amazing sight to see all the different colors brighten the sky. As I was watching some of…
Ah, summer is my absolute favorite time of the year. The sun comes up earlier and goes down later. The days are longer and more leisurely. However, for many, summer means… Finding solutions for kids who are not at school while parents work… Trying to stay cool in blistering heat… Wrestling with needing a vacation…