2023 Daily Advent Devotional

A Musical Advent As the Communications Director for Haymarket Church, I get the opportunity to see and read all of the Advent (and also Lent) devotional entries before anyone else. Well, Pastor Brian receives some of them via email before I do ... but you get the...

"A shoot will grow up from the stump of Jesse;      a branch will sprout from his roots.  The Lord’s spirit will rest upon him,      a spirit of wisdom and understanding,      a spirit of planning and...

Christmas Breakfast When I think of Christmas, I think of breakfast.  Since I was little, the most central element of my family’s Christmas celebration has been eating a big breakfast together on Christmas morning.  When I was young, it drove me crazy.  We’d come...

Were there Hobbits at the Nativity?  It is no secret in the Bryden household that J.R.R. Tolkien (of the Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, and Silmarillion fame) is my favorite author. While I am not an avid reader, I couldn’t put his books down once I started – with the...

On Sunday in worship, our preacher, Rev. Shannon Hendricks, preached about the story of Mary and Elizabeth (Luke 1:26-56).  In her sermon, she referenced a song called “The Canticle of the Turning.”  This song is a reinterpretation of the song Mary sings...

The Rebel Jesus  One of my favorite Christmas songs is Jackson Browne’s “The Rebel Jesus.” It’s not quite a traditional song, but every year, when it’s time for us to start reading Chapter 1 of Luke, there’s something about this song that just – well, I think this...

It was Thanksgiving Week of 1972 when I flew into National Airport to report to my first duty station, Ft. Meade, MD, after completing basic training. I had just turned 18 the previous May and was going to spend my Army stint as a trumpeter in the First US Army...

What must it have been like to be Mary?  Her life got turned upside-down when an angel told her that she was going to give birth to God’s son.  It almost ended her marriage.  It must have strained relationships with family, friends, and neighbors –...

Mary Did You Know? Thirty-plus years ago, my husband, daughter and I were living in Bonn, Germany; at the time Germany’s capital. Bill had been offered a position in Bonn by his employer and we both thought it would be a wonderful opportunity to live in Europe; and...

Mary, Did You Know? Between my husband’s side and mine, we each have 2 siblings who each have at least two children. But while mine are all in Baltimore, Sean’s all live closer to us. We used to split the day of Christmas, Thanksgiving - and all other holidays that...