Posts tagged “Joy”
Jesus is a big baby
It’s hard for a baby to be a big deal. As much as I adore my two daughters, I realize that only a tiny…
Great joy for all people
Are you ever shocked by the shepherds in the Christmas history? When you see those staff-grasping men around the manger, do you gasp? When…
Just imagine
Imagination is on the decline. With the rise of TV watching and the decline of book reading, you don’t need to imagine anymore. Someone…
The gift that keeps on giving
Most likely you’ve heard the phrase, “It’s the gift that keeps on giving.” It was first coined in the 1920s and promoted radios. The…
The source of Christmas joy
If you had to describe Christmas with an emoji, what would it be—the red angry face, the blue tearful face, or the yellow smiling…
Christmas is a time to think
Have you ever heard of Sakichi Toyoda? He was the father of the man who became famous for his car company. Sakichi himself was…
Christmas is a time to smile
I have a pet peeve with most nativity sets. Some pastors are bothered by the wise men around the manger, since they technically didn’t…
Take my life
Young Frances walked with her head down. A clever girl, she’d memorized Bible passages when she was only four and started writing poems at…
Good news for black sheep
Did you know that, according to many rabbis who lived around the time of Jesus, shepherds were the black sheep of the Jewish family?…
The waiting game
What are your pre-Christmas memories from your childhood? I remember coming in from afternoon recess at school, getting settled in my desk, and my…
Top ten reasons to go to church
Why do you want to go to church? As a parish pastor, every year I would have a “Help the Pastor Write His Sermon”…
All the marshmallows
Have you heard of the famous marshmallow experiment? In the 1960s, a Stanford professor tested hundreds of children ages 4-5 by sitting them down…