At the end of Pastor Luke’s first sermon in our “Make Room” advent series, he challenged us to try fasting, not only from food, but from anything in our life that is dulling and numbing our senses to God. That Sunday, I made a commitment to fast from social media by...
I find it a skosh ironic that I’m the one writing on rest. I’ve been a single mother for the past seven years—with four kids—and every voicemail left on my phone starts with “I know you’re really busy, Johanna …” But God and his...
On the eve of Thanksgiving, a day when many Americans become competitive eaters, allow me to turn your attention to one Joey Chestnut. The Major League Eating website informs us: “Joey Chestnut is the greatest eater in history. … These days Joey Chestnut is truly an...
Jim Killam originally wrote this essay in 2014 for Christianity Today. On Dec. 21, 1968, 40 minutes after leaving Earth’s orbit, Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders fell silent. Looking back at the just-separated third stage of their Saturn V...
Two hundred volunteers. A live Nativity. Wagon rides. S’mores around a campfire. An indoor snowball fight. Santa. A puppet show. Christmas Cookies. Food vendors. Christmas Traditions is upon us. Our celebration runs 3 to 7 p.m. this Saturday, Dec. 9. The community is...
Our culture loves Christmas and definitely still likes the word “Advent.” We just define it a little strangely. Walk through just about any store this season and you’ll find Advent calendars. Usually these contain little gifts, one to open each day for either 12 or 24...
