Simplifying… me

The door is on the latch tonight,
The hearth-fire is aglow,
I seem to hear soft passing feet —
The Christchild in the snow.
My heart is open wide tonight
For stranger, kith or kin;
I would not bar a single door
Where love might enter in.
Author Unknown
Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would come.
A heavy darkness had settled upon the world, [...]

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Hot and dry. A thick orangey-red haze coated the landscape as I stepped out of the Lilongwe International Airport. I pushed the heavy cart loaded with maybe three or four suitcases and a large trunk wrapped with luggage straps to keep them from busting open. Brooklyn and Jackson, my siblings, pushed their own carts piled [...]

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Joel and I recently read the Chronicles of Narnia series with Jasper at bedtime. Last night we finished book number five: The Horse and His Boy. I am going to be honest, after The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, the other books in this series have been very difficult for me to get through. [...]

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For just a moment, let’s think about Joseph the Dreamer.
We find his story in the book of Genesis. Anyone who grew up going to church will be quite up to speed with this story. I can still see the flannel graph pictures of Joseph surrounded by bales of wheat bowing in his direction during those [...]

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The Comrades Marathon
Today, over 20,000 individuals from all over the world have converged upon Durban, South Africa, to participate in the prestigious Comrades Marathon.
The race was conceptualized by a South African World War I veteran, Vic Clapham. After enduring a 27,000 kilometer walk through German, East Africa—witnessing the physical and mental challenges that he and [...]

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Death and mourning. Sadness and despair.
It seemed the story was over. Christ had died and his body lay in a tomb. It was the end of an era as far as anyone could tell.
There was weeping, mourning, uncertainty, and confusion.
What next?
Mary Magdalene stood at the empty grave…certainly, there must be some explanation. Her heart gave [...]

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A crucifixion.
The events of Good Friday were filled with a kind of drama that we cannot fully comprehend. It was ugly. The worst of human nature spilled out into every street and every corner of the city. Jealousy and envy had blossomed into hate, and hate burned hot. All of life, nature, and the whole [...]

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Maundy Thursday is the day the church recognizes and observes the Last Supper of Jesus.
Defined as “the ceremony of washing the feet of the poor, esp. commemorating Jesus’ washing of His disciples’ feet on Maundy Thursday” by the Collins English Dictionary, Maundy Thursday calls our attention to those final moments between Christ and his disciples before [...]

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The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice [...]

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When God starts chopping away at the branches of my life, I can’t say that I am full of joyful surrender. I typically resist the spiritual machete that starts swinging in my direction. I don’t want it. “God, you can keep your machete to yourself. I’ll happily live with overgrown branches and dead limbs.” But [...]

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