Merry Christmas from Velvet Ashes
“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light.” — Isaiah 9:2 Merry Christmas, dear Velvet Ashes community. Wherever this day finds you—gathered around a crowded table or eating something familiar in a place that still feels foreign, celebrating with teammates or holding quiet space for the homesickness that tugs at your heart—Christ comes […]
Echoes of Light
“When the candle is burning, who looks at the wick? When the candle is out, who needs it? But the world without light is wasteland and chaos, and a life without sacrifice is abomination.” Annie Dillard Midlife has crept up on me. One of the gifts of aging, as I see it, is the familiarity […]
The Echo of Advent
Have you ever felt as if you were standing on the edge of a cliff, looking out over a vast chasm, calling out for help or comfort? You listen—straining, stretching yourself for any sound other than the echo of your own voice. But then your voice bounces back, tired and hollow, as though it were […]
A Christmas Blessing
In a year when the thrill of hope seems like a memory from another time; In a season when we can collectively understand what a weary world feels like; In a moment in history when all eyes are straining toward the promises of tomorrow; We take time to reflect. We reflect on that historic night, […]
Unexpected Christmas Treasure
During one of our Christmas times in China, God blanketed our courtyard with snow in the early morning hours. It was magical. A gift. Before the arrival of footprints and bike tracks, it was pure, white, untouched, perfect… As I settled on the couch to read and reflect in a peaceful time of silence, I […]
Treasuring Christ In Feast or Famine
Advent has become a favorite time of year for me. I love it for many reasons, one of them being that it invites me to both look back & to look ahead. It is precious to look back all the way to the promises indicating the Messiah would come, and to treasure when he actually […]
Not Home for the Holidays
You won’t be home for Christmas. There won’t be snow or mistletoe, and maybe no presents under the non-existent tree. Is it time for to a pity party? No! And, if you’re tempted to throw one (or you’re right in the middle of one) I’d say it’s time for an intentional rearranging of thoughts. To […]
Merry Velvet Christmas
May the wonder of Immanuel fill you this weekend. “God… with… us…” May you find pause to let that soak your soul. May you be ravished with gob-smacking awe at the thought of God of the universe in squishy newborn skin. May you know deep into your marrow the love of Him who came for you. May you be […]
Merry Velvet Christmas!
May the wonder of Immanuel fill you today. “God… with… us…” May you find pause today to let that soak your soul. May you be ravished with gob-smacking awe at the thought of God of the universe in squishy newborn skin. May you know deep into your marrow the love of him who came for you. May you be like […]
Jacaranda (Is It, Then, Enough?)
They call the jacaranda the Christmas tree, the flowers cascading from her branches, Christmas flowers. She bursts into flame as Christmas draws near: a purple canopy of blinding extravagance. Her generosity carpets the ground, a brilliant blanket of purple flowers. what if the question is the answer and the longing is the praise what if […]
How to be Anchored in Your Own Story
Anyone else humming the timeless tune from Fiddler on the Roof this week? I couldn’t get it out of my head so I went to Youtube to watch it. Guess what I discovered? A goldmine! The movie starts off with the Papa talking about how dangerous it is to be a fiddler on a roof […]
Joy
Multiple times this fall I’ve heard the acronym Jesus, Others, You for joy. Can joy really be reduced to a simple acronym? Part of me recoils and wants to back away saying, “Well, that might work for new believers or people who are wired more innocently than I am. I’m a bit too, ahem, sophisticated […]