Holidays

Note: This is third of a four-part series about Advent. Click here for part one and here for part two. Jesus used vivid, prophetic and symbolic language to describe His promised future return, which will affect the earth, sun, moon and stars (Matt. 24:29-30). John the Revelator seems to speak of these same cosmic disturbances

This word “advent” has been popping up all around me lately. Have you ever wondered what “advent” even means? I looked it up in the dictionary, and it means: a coming into place, view or being; arrival. Advent refers to the coming of Christ into the world. Advent also refers to the Second Coming of

A part of the traditional celebration of Hanukkah is the lighting of a nine-branch Hanukkah Menorah (called a Hanukkiah) each night for eight consecutive nights. This year, as we joyously lit our Hanukkiah with our two youngest grandchildren, we once again placed the menorah in a location clearly visible not only from inside our home,

The Vatican is facing mixed reviews for its unconventional nativity scene this year. The display features an out-of-this-world theme based on the lunar landings in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Fox News contributor Rachel Campos-Duffy echoes the appalled cry of many: This monstrosity is the Vatican’s nativity scene. Nothing like ugly robot space aliens

After a lifetime of Christmas pageants and nativity scenes, we have grown numb to the amazing story of the birth of Jesus. In fact, it has been relegated to a children’s story replete with newborn babies, angels and adorable little lambs, not to mention the petting zoos of camels and goats. Most nativity scenes also

It’s Hanukkah—an appointed time of miracles! This is the celebration Jesus spoke of in John 10, calling it the “Feast of Dedication.” Many of us know the story of the oil, which was intended to last for one day but lasted for eight. But did you know that it all started with a miraculous victory

True to his efforts to encourage everyone to celebrate the reason for the season, President Donald Trump has given most federal workers the full day off on Christmas Eve. This will be the third year the president has given workers extra time off during Christmas. His 2020 Christmas address with the first lady likewise reminds

On Dec. 10 at sundown through Dec. 18 at sundown, we enter the season of Hanukkah or Festival of Dedication or Lights on the Hebrew calendar. Jesus Himself was in Solomon’s Colonnade during this time, according to John 10:22-23, which reads, “The Feast of the Dedication was at Jerusalem, and it was winter. Jesus walked

Note: This is the first of a four-part series. These weeks before the celebration of Christmas are known in Christian liturgy as the Advent season. The term comes from the Latin advenio, meaning “to come to,” and its observance is meant to keep believers focused on the hope of our Lord’s future Second Coming, while

Thanksgiving is the top-rated holiday for Americans. Hands down, Thanksgiving is the best day of the year for the American family, and here’s why: Thanksgiving touches many of the things we love most—things like time off work, hanging out with family, watching endless football and eating delicious food. These must rank among the top 5

This week in the U.S., we will celebrate Thanksgiving Day, a day set aside each year to gather with loved ones and friends to eat a traditional meal and share the many things for which we are thankful. But this year is 2020, a year that has become a recognized synonym for awful. By now,

We are standing on the threshold of what is supposed to be “the most wonderful time of the year.” There are many people, however, who are hopeless, joyless and filled with anxiety as they dread the last five weeks of the calendar year. I am not one of those people; I have a hope that

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! No, I am not talking about those weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I am talking about the Month of Tishri (September through October on the Greco-Roman calendar). This season, known as the High Holy Days, includes Yom Teruah (Day of Trumpets), also known as Rosh Hashana (New

I like to remind my clients and people I work with that being a lover to your spouse is an intentional process. When I use the term “lover,” I’m not in any manner alluding to sex or sexuality. I mean you were giving of yourself in some or several ways toward another that symbolized or

In 1954, Perry Como released his single with the now-familiar lyrics, “Oh, there’s no place like home for the holidays/ ’cause no matter how far away you roam/ When you pine for the sunshine of a friendly gaze/ for the holidays, you can’t beat home, sweet home.” I don’t know what comes to your mind