For at least a 20+ year period of my life, I had beef with the shepherds from the Nativity story. It all started in the early 2000’s when I was an 11 year-old youngster. As a young, gay, Pentecostal pastor’s kid, my chances for dressing in shiny and bejeweled...
On the second Sunday of Advent, we are talking about John the Baptist. Advent is kinda weird, in that we prepare for Christmas (at least during early Advent) by telling stories that happened when Jesus was an adult. We get ready to celebrate the birth of...
Over the last week or so, there’s a song I’ve been listening to quite a lot. It’s called “Thou Who Wast Rich” and the version I’ve been listening to is performed by a group called “Ordinary Time.” There’s nothing fancy about the song – it’s just a hymn, and I...
I love keeping family traditions, especially around Christmas time. Some traditions we have in our family include not listening to Christmas music until afterThanksgiving (although I think one of our daughters starts earlier each year), dipping pretzels inwhite...
“A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices” This line from the popular Christmas song, O Holy Night, carried me through the Christmas of 2021. As the world continued to isolate due to COVID-19, I was navigating a challenging diagnosis. By December 2021, my...
Be warned: today’s Advent devotion includes some profanity. First, an explanation: Advent is a season that is traditionally associated with the biblical genre of apocalypticism. Apocalypticism (or “apocalyptic” or “apocalypse”) is a genre of literature...
