Reality

After church and lunch yesterday, Keith and I went grocery shopping. Keith pushed the cart into the produce section while I consulted my list. “Do you want some fruit?” I asked. “Um, sure,” Keith said, distracted as he looked towards the floral department. The cart...

Reaching for the Light

Christmas is the season of light, perhaps an irony in the Northern Hemisphere during the shortest days of the year. Like the Taoist forces of yin and yang, when our days seem dark and our nights long, when all we see is failure, the light of truth appears closest at...

Choosing Joy

As the season’s first major ice and snowstorm swept across the country this past weekend, our dogs mirrored the concern and exuberance that accompanies such natural events. When I opened the kitchen door to Sunday ‘s early morning ice pellets, Heathcliff stopped in...

Games

I’m having a hard time gearing up for Christmas. After two drafts, our annual Christmas letter remains as dull as a worn-down pencil-point. During Thanksgiving week, I completed the third draft of my book manuscript and, after the intense effort, feel at loose ends....

Surrogates

I’ve always loved Christmas! From the time I was a child through my son’s and daughter’s growing up years, we gathered as a family to pick out the tree and decorate the house. We made Christmas cookies and prepared special meals while singing Christmas carols, and we...