Advent and Christmas
Dreaming of a Green Christmas
Yes, the glaciers are melting, and those sad little polar bears on the commercials are trying to remind us. But this is not that. This is a note about living in the desert, where all things green are about as elusive, magical and mysterious as Santa. Last week it rained. I mean ALOT. Alot for [...]
Who Comes This Night, Take 2!
As promised earlier today (“To Welcome in the Stranger”) here’s another take of “Who Comes this Night,” performed by my brother Chris. Under the video is a link to check out his blog for the music business he shares with his wife. Happy listening. Mockingbird Musicians, Nashville
To Welcome in the Stranger
Oh, the lovely and wonderful things that they don’t play on the radio. In the endless loop of holly jolly reindeer rock–and Celine Dion, of course–we miss out on alot of really beautiful and even prophetic music. James Taylor’s “Who Comes This Night” has become a seasonal fave of mine, and i’ve never once heard [...]
Week 4: Welcome
It was dark. Rainy. Cold. I’d been in the car for about 12 hours. Alone. Intermittent radio signal through the West Virginia Mountains, nothing but wheezing preachers and country (not the good kind) for much of Virginia, over an HOUR sitting still on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge because i lacked the foresight to plan around [...]
Ready: Week 3, Day 3
I took a self-care day today. That means, took the kids to a baby sitter, got a massage, got my hair done, had lunch, did some light shopping, generally piddled about. In the course of this day, i encountered stylists, receptionists, check-out personnel, waitresses…you know the scene. So let’s say in the course of this [...]
Abundance: Week 3, day 2
Me, to the 3-year-old, as I toss some things in a box: “We are going to get rid of some of your toys, before you get new stuff for Christmas.” The kid: “And we’ll give it to some other children?” me: “Exactly! Who taught you about that, somebody at church?” Kid: “No, you did!” The [...]
Week 3, Day 1: Dance it Out
Back to my rant on Celine Dion–if you like her, it’s fine. Not judging. Nor do i mean to single out a single performer as “Everything that’s Contrived and Cheesy about Christmas.” Really, there is a whole gaggle of artists contributing to that cause. I hear Clay Aiken’s “O Holy Night,” and i want to barf [...]
Week 3: The Beginnings of Joy
There’s just something about a good beginning… If we are honest, any good preacher or speaker will tell you that with a good beginning (and a strong ending) you can get away with some not-so-impressive stuff in the middle. Not that one should make a habit of getting by with great intros and crummy content, but there’s [...]
Be Still: Week 2, Day 4
“When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be, I go and lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds. I come into the [...]
