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  • O Little Town of Bethlehem

    Thanks for taking part in our Advent Calendar this year. As we bring this season to a close, take a moment to watch this perspective on the Christmas story as provided by modern day residents of Bethlehem.

  • A Tradition That Traveled

    Growing up, holiday traditions never quite found a place to land in my home. They existed, I knew, just not with us—like music drifting in from another room. I noticed them. I just didn’t inherit them. So when Brittany and I got married, I made a quiet decision: we would build something of our own.…

  • A Christmas Invitation

    I didn’t grow up celebrating holidays. Gift-giving has always felt foreign to me because, in my household, we didn’t exchange or receive gifts. I don’t have memories of waking up on Christmas morning and opening presents. I was raised in a single-parent home, well below the poverty level. My mom did what she could, but sometimes…

  • Kringle All The Way

    Sometimes you try things and they go off the rails. Proverbs 1:8 says “Do not forsake your mother’s teaching.” It probably should also say “Do not stray from her recipes.” This Advent season, I offer you the gift of feeling really good about your culinary skills in comparison to mine. May all your Christmas baking…

  • Ornaments of Hope

    Today I made ornaments out of my children’s handprints. Earlier this year, our family lost our home in the Palisades Fires. In a matter of moments,everything familiar was gone- rooms filled with memories, keepsakes collected over the years,even ornaments that would come out every December, each telling a story of where we’d beenand who we…

  • Tears & Hope

    Sometimes the holidays are hard – and the joy of the season doesn’t come easy. Maybe it’s the loss of a loved one. Or challenging finances. Or the heaviness of the news. Or a recent diagnosis. Maybe memories from a painful childhood get stirred up this time of year. Whatever the reason, it can be…

  • O Christmas Trees

    Each year during the advent season, a forest of beautifully handcrafted Christmas trees begins showing up around the church. But trees don’t just grow on trees; someone put a lot of time and energy into making them. That someone is Jane Caro, and she was kind enough to share some of the backstory behind what…

  • Say Cheese

    When I was young.  I always remember there being “pre dinner snacks”. for the holidays.  And there was always a cheese ball. Yes. I said cheese ball. What I never knew was my great grandmother made them.  The recipe is slightly disturbing, but when I think of it. Times back then were so hard and…

  • The Midnight Hour

    What can be said of the night? What can be said of the night is often voiced by the feelings the night calls forth. When weeping has tarried far too long, when the joy we wish to come would rise as the sun does. What can be said of the night when it refuses to…

  • Come and Stand Amazed

    If you’re looking for a Christmas album, one of my favorites is by Citizens, Repeat the Sounding Joy – EP. It features songs like “Joy to the World” and “Silent Night”, but my favorite is their rendition of “Come and Stand Amazed”.  This song goes on repeat for me during the Christmas season as it calls us to…