Blog

Advent is a joyful time of year. The piles of gifts begin to accumulate under the tree. The smell of fresh baked cookies wafts through the house. Greeting cards arrive with news of old friends.  Have you ever had a dear friend drop out of touch? There was a time when you talked almost every …

Immanuel is almost here! Welcome to the eighteenth devotional thought of this Advent series on “God With Us.”  Writing these devotionals each year is always a pleasure for me as they force me to take time to slow down and focus on the real meaning of this holiday season. However, the thoughts that I post …

Thank you for sticking with me through this Advent season a we explore the theme “Immanuel – God With Us.” Yesterday we saw that God walks by our side as we move through our days in a world that has rebelled against His ways. Sometimes we are tempted to give up hope. How can one …

How good to have you back again for the next in our Advent series on the theme “Immanuel – God With Us.”  Just because the Lord walks at our side does not mean that everything in our lives runs smoothly. Jesus lived in a world that rebelled against God’s laws and continually pressured Him to …

Every day brings the excitement of Christmas closer. I hope that these brief Advent devotionals are helping you keep your focus on Immanuel – “God With Us.”  When we walk with God, sometimes we find ourselves out of step with the world around us. The newspapers are full of accounts of court decisions about bakers …

Welcome back to another of our Advent devotionals about “Immanuel – God With Us.”  Have you ever felt like you were all by yourself against a huge crowd of people? I remember when my daughter Prisca was in a school assembly, and Officer Friendly was asking the crowd about rules for driving in Pennsylvania. “Is …

Did you know that the number of people joining us in following this Advent theme is growing each day? Some people are following it at my website, others on Facebook, still others on GoodReads. I think this increase of interest reflects how much people desire the presence of “God With Us” in their daily lives. …

Can you believe we are now halfway through Advent? We are gradually learning more and more about what “Immanuel – God With Us” means. For example we have seen that it has always been God’s desire to be near His people. He delights to listen to us and has power to respond to each of …

As you go about the malls and shops this season, you listen to laughter, see smiles on faces and hear people wish you “Merry Christmas!” They appear happy, but many of those people hide deep pain within. They need “Immanuel – God With Us.”  Yesterday, I mentioned that, as a counselor, I spend a lot …