Emily Parke Chase
Have you ever waited and waited for something only to discover the result is not what you expected? My mother was an avid gardener. Early in December one year, as a joke, my dad bought her an enormous bag of peat moss. He wrapped it, tied on a big red bow and placed it under …
Read More Advent 2017 – Day 4Welcome back to the third in this series of Advent devotionals on the theme “Waiting for God to Appear.” When my children were little, they found it harder and harder to wait as the holiday drew near. We agreed that they would each be allowed to open one gift on Christmas Eve. One year my …
Read More Advent 2017 – Day 3Are Christmas packages starting to appear under your tree? You can see them. You might even shake them. You can lift them and test the weight. But you know you can’t open them yet. Welcome back to the second of our Advent devotionals on “Waiting for God to Appear.” In Genesis 6-9, Noah learned what …
Read More Advent 2017 – Day 2If you have looked around you, signs of the Christmas season are everywhere. Colorful lights decorate houses and trees, malls are full of frantic shoppers, carols float through the air. Children wait impatiently for the holiday to arrive. But before Christmas arrives, an important season must come first. It is called Advent, a time of …
Read More Advent 2017 – Day 1Tomorrow is Christmas. Thank you for staying with me through these 24 days of Advent. May the Lord bless your Christmas celebrations. You may think this season of thankfulness is done, but actually it is only the beginning. All the individuals – people like Moses, David, Isaiah, and Daniel – whom we have looked at over …
Read More Advent 2016 – Day 24Only one more day of Advent. Tomorrow is our last post on this theme of “Thanking Jesus.” Hope you can join us! With so much to thank the Lord for in his own life, Paul struggled to comprehend how other people could ignore the God of Creation. In Romans 1, the apostle pointed out that …
Read More Advent 2016 – Day 23Are you on Facebook? Despite my objections to the way it can monopolize one’s time, it offers a way to stay in touch with people you don’t get to see every day. The apostle Paul loved the people he served. Because he wasn’t geographically near them and he didn’t have access to Facebook, Paul wrote …
Read More Advent 2016 – Day 22Are you enjoying all the Christmas fudge and cookies these days? Are you also feeding your soul? Thanks for coming back for another of these Advent devotionals on “Thanking Jesus.” My husband visited in the home of a local family when he was touring Russia. His host asked him if he would say a blessing …
Read More Advent 2016 – Day 21Christmas is only a few days away! Thanks for sticking with me for the remaining Advent devotionals on “Thanking Jesus.” We have been tracing stories of individuals throughout scripture who chose to thank God. Luke tells us, in chapter 7 of his gospel, about a day when Jesus was having dinner at the home of …
Read More Advent 2016 – Day 20We are coming down the homestretch on this series of 24 Advent devotionals on “Thanking Jesus.” My husband and I have welcomed hundreds of people into our home. Some have come for a meal, others have stayed for months. We have noticed, however, that of all our guests, those who are most grateful are often …
Read More Advent 2016 – Day 19