The Christmas season is a beautiful time of year. It brings families together, puts olds hurts in their proper perspective (forgiven and forgotten), and flows freely with eggnog and peppermint-flavored coffee. Not to mention the prettily wrapped gifts that pile up neatly under the Christmas tree. What could possibly be better? A Savior. Amidst the […]
A Time of Refreshing
Last month I attended SoCal Christian Writer’s Conference held at Biola University. I had only signed up because I wanted to visit someone there and because my publisher was pushing hard for me to go, so we could be roommates. As it turned out the person I was planning to visit wasn’t going to be […]
Playing Pollyanna’s glad game
Wow, nearly the end of January already! The days just scoot by so fast. It feels like no time since New Year’s Day. How are you going with your New Year’s Resolutions? Well, I hope, and celebrating your successes! I didn’t do my usual list of resolutions this year, though I do still have intentions for this […]
In the Temple, Part III
by: Staci Stallings First let us look at the actual Scripture for our discussion about Mary and Joseph finding Jesus in the Temple (from Luke 2:41-50): [41] Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. [42] When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to […]
In the Temple, Part II
by: Staci Stallings In the first part of “In the Temple,” we looked at how Mary and Joseph lost Jesus after the Passover Feast, and it took them three days to find Him. When they did, they found Him in the Temple, listening, asking, and even doing a little teaching. Mary was angry and said, […]
In the Temple, Part I
by: Staci Stallings There are certain stories in the Bible that I’ve heard all of my life, and for some unknown reason I don’t “get it” for a long time. Then suddenly new insight breaks through, and WOW! I’ll never read or hear that story the same way again. One of those stories is the […]
Being a Magi
by: Staci Stallings A long time ago I read a book that said, “There is a reason you notice the things you notice. They come into your sight to tell you something.” (paraphrase) I took that to heart and began actively noticing. That is, I notice when I notice something. Rather than going through life […]
Pushing the Limits
I’m writing this following a church service a few weeks before this goes live. That’s not normal for me. :) In church this morning my pastor spoke on “Pushing the Limits.” That grabbed my attention and I reached for the pad that is provided to take notes on. This is a topic I “preach” on […]
Putting People Together
There are very few things in this life more fulfilling than helping someone else reconnect with God. There are also very few things that can be as frustrating. Now picture this: You and I are standing in a dark room that has an unplugged lamp. YOU have the cord. All I can do is give […]