My advent assignment yesterday: Write a letter of welcome to Jesus. ***** Dec 21, 2012 Dearest, Please stop by my house this afternoon. I just made some hot chocolate; the snow is falling; the house, at last, is peaceful; and I finally sat down. I think I hear you at the door. You will come […]
A knock upon the door Read More »
1 John 1:1 “…We have heard… we have seen with our eyes… we have looked upon, and our hands have handled… the Word of life.” Profession: Children, like adults, need a Jesus they can touch. We have three baby Jesus-es around our house each Christmas. One is part of a porcelain Nativity scene purchased for
Today I introduce to you a new friend of mine, Marlene Stoltzfus. I enjoyed reading her comments on Christmas, and asked her to write them into a guest post to share with the rest of you. Marlene lives locally and thinks globally in Guys Mills, PA. She’s wife to Kyle and mother to 4 1/2-month-old
Christmas messiness Read More »
Confession: Last year we practically skipped Christmas. With mere weeks till moving day number three, we spent our December in the throes of packing, renovating, and shuttling back and forth between our two homes. I knew I could not do a traditional advent calendar, so I devised an Advent of Quiet: 30 gentle preparations of
An advent of quiet Read More »
We’ll start with a family tradition: an advent calendar. Advent calendars have been around for a long time (up to 200 years), and in their simplest form are just a way of physically counting down the days between December 1st and December 25th. The goal is anticipation and celebration. In the old times, families might
Back to the holidays Read More »
Festivity/ merrymaking Family Theology—God in flesh Childhood memories, and creating them for your own children Gifts to give and receive What Christmas does to society—happiness and goodwill Coziness—hot drinks, fires, atmosphere, aroma Tradition—décor, food Anticipation Music Confession: The comments on this blog are at least as worth reading as the blog itself. That’s why I
Why my family likes Christmas Read More »
Confession: You see the problem is, I think I am Ebenezer Scrooge. I hate Christmas. “??” you say. “I don’t think I caught what you just said.” I hate Christmas!! I cannot describe the panic of entering any shop in town by the middle of November and encountering cheap red velvet, artificial evergreen, garish tinsel,
Confession: Sometimes enough is enough. Even of a really good thing. I had to step out of the loud, happy family gathering and go for a little walk. I love my Coblentz people. But we are (self included) a strange herd. We’ve had two days of congenial concourse: turkey and trimmings and talk, games and
Confession: At the ripe old age of thirty, I feel as much a child as ever. It seems to be taking me an awfully long time to grow up. Your words were such a sweet surprise yesterday—thank you for honoring me beyond what I deserve. I listened and smiled and celebrated. And slept in so
Birthday reflections Read More »
Confession: This is not written by Shari. Today is a special day… for many reasons, I’m sure. Today marks Shari’s 30th birthday. Many of you have been reading this blog for some time. Today give Shari something special. Give her the gift of words. No more than three words. How do you experience Shari through