Today if the fourth Sunday of Advent: Love.
Holidays
Advent | Joy
Bible, Christmas, Culture, God's Character, Holidays, Luke, Personal Thoughts, Writing SpotToday is the third Sunday of Advent: Joy.
Advent | Peace
Bible, Christmas, Culture, God's Character, Holidays, Personal Thoughts, Writing SpotToday is the second Sunday of Advent: Peace.
Advent | Hope
Bible, Christmas, Culture, God's Character, Holidays, Personal Thoughts, Writing SpotToday is the first Sunday of Advent: Hope
Happy Thanksgiving!
Culture, Holidays, Writing SpotWishing each of you, my reader friends, a very….
How are you spending this day of thanks?
Labor Day
America, Culture, Holidays, Writing SpotHappy Labor Day, reader friends!
Make it Monday | Christmas
Bible, Culture, Family, General, God's Character, Holidays, Make it Monday, Personal Thoughts, Seasons, Self-careIt’s the most wonderful time of the year. Or so the song claims. I tend to agree, but also know that such expectation can often leave us wanting more. The wonder and magic of the season can get lost amid the running around, the shopping, the parties, the traveling. Not to mention wrestling with emotional disappointments, family drama, and personal loss. With so much riding on this season it is easy to let it drag us down when it seems like it should pick us up.
Make it Monday | Santa Lucia
Activity, Bible, Chronic Illness, Culture, Foods, Gender, General, Holidays, Make it Monday, Personal Thoughts, Recipes, Seasons, Self-careWhenever I say, ‘Santa Lucia,’ I can’t help picturing – and, frankly, hearing – Don Knots attempting to sing the traditional Italian song as Barney Fife in The Andy Griffith Show. So many other, better singers have recorded it, but for some reason, Knots’ is the version that sticks in my head.
However, that was not my first interaction with the celebration known as the Feast Day of St. Lucy. I first learned about the primarily Swedish holiday from Kristen’s Surprise, one of the books in Kristen’s American Girl series. Being part Swede and part Italian myself, Santa Lucia Day has become a holiday that fascinates me.
Make it Monday | St. Nick
Activity, Culture, Holidays, Make it MondayIt’s Christmastime! To start off the first week of Advent, let’s talk Santa. Before pictures of the jolly, old elf with the red suit jump to mind, I’d like to take us back a few centuries. First, however, here’s a little background on Advent, which will inform our topics the next several weeks.
Make it Monday | Thanksgiving
America, Culture, Family, General, Holidays, Make it Monday, Personal Thoughts, SeasonsI love Thanksgiving. One of my favorite parts about the holiday is hosting the big feast. There’s nothing better to me than a table full of food and surrounded by family (or those adopted as family for the day).
Despite my love of the holiday, I know Thanksgiving has a lot of pressure. It may be one day out of the year, but on it, we pack a momentous dinner, a myriad of family dynamics, and the start of the Christmas season. Perhaps that is why there is so much fuss to push Christmas off until we’ve given Thanksgiving its due. And yet, have we actually remembered what Thanksgiving is all about?