Who Are We Waiting For? How Are We Waiting?

by Lane | Advent, Devotional, Spiritual Practices

Thanksgiving morning dawns bright. With to-do lists in hand, I fire up the oven, pull out the cutting board, sharpen a knife, open the fridge, and start the preparations for festive cooking.    However, before I get too far into my day, I change the television...

Advent’s Slow Invitation

by Lane | Advent, Spiritual Practices

When I was a child, airport trips to pick up incoming family members accentuated the wonder of the holidays. We walked from the wood-paneled station wagon all the way to the airport arrival gate, just off the taxiway. Dressed in our Sunday best, we strolled the...

Interrupted

by Lane | Advent

“The people who walk in darkness have seen a great light…” — Isaiah 9:1 Light interrupts the darkness. Raw places sting. They jab at us in a thousand stabs. Be it physical, emotional, intellectual, relational, or spiritual, when we suffer, the...

Echoing Her “Yes”

by Lane | Advent

I step into scene that Luke 1 paints. The angel Gabriel informs Mary, a young unmarried virgin, that she’ll give birth to a child. A Child who will be great and be called the Son of the Most High. He’ll have an everlasting kingdom. Mary trembles and asks, “How can...

A Week to Get Ready

by Lane | Advent, Spiritual Disciplines, Spiritual Practices

Next Sunday is New Year’s, you know.  What? You think that’s not quite true? You think I may have lost a marble or two or flipped the calendar one too many months? For a good portion of my life, I’ve routinely celebrated three New Year’s celebrations:  January 1:...

Answering the Question

by Lane | Advent, Devotional, Writing

  Squirming came easy. Whether I was squished between my two younger sisters in the middle seat or stretched out on top of lumpy suitcases lining the rear compartment of the wood-paneled station wagon, finding a comfortable position required squirming creativity....