Day 15: Mighty “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found […]

Day 14: Counselor “It’s obvious, of course, that he didn’t go to all this trouble for angels. It was for people like us, children of Abraham. That’s why he had to enter into every detail of human life. then, when he came before God as high priest to get rid of people’s sins, he would […]

Day 13: Sacred “My eyes have seen Your salvation, Which You have prepared in the presence of all peoples.“ Luke 2:30-31 *sacred = holy = not normal = other than everyday = the good china = set apart = special = other = Thou not thee (or me?) = spiritually loaded with good stuff = […]

Day 12: Seen “He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” Isaiah 53:2 I have Bipolar I Disorder. I can say this now. For some time, I […]

Day 11: Assumptions “But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” Luke 1:43 Assumptions seem to be disguised with the word “should”. We should be better. We should be different. We should have more. Be more. Do more. Should. Should. Should. But I think we need to stop […]

Day 10: Virgin “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” Luke 1:34 I must confess that my rational mind struggles with the virgin birth story. Honestly, I am grateful that the gospels of Mark and John seem to know nothing of a virgin birth. It does not seem to be […]

Day 9: Omega “I am the Alpha and the Omega – the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come – the Almighty One.” Revelation 1:8 I’ll just admit it: this chapter is a rough one. (No offense, Mr. Erickson, if […]

Day 8: Breath “I am the Alpha and the Omega – the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come – the Almighty One.” Revelation 1:8 How many times have you forgotten to breathe or take a breath? This is the […]

Day 7: Alpha “I am the Alpha and the Omega – the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come – the Almighty One.” Revelation 1:8 A few weeks ago, I walked into my weekly counseling session feeling heavy and burdened […]

Day 6: Unease Let it be to me according to your word. Luke 1:38 When Ryan asked me to share my reflections about today’s readings – Unease – I was immediately anxious, restless, somewhat worried – yes, I guess I was feeling some uneasiness. Why? Because I find myself in uneasy circumstances in my life […]