Secular Christmas

Anyone who knows me knows I love Christmas music. I am not the one complaining if it plays ‘too early’ on the radio. In fact, with the benefit of modern music streaming services, I find myself listening to Christmas music not just at Christmas. I also enjoy Christmas decorations and Christmas sweaters, even the ‘ugly’…

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Christmas Repentance

A praying area with candles at a church

What does repentance have to do with Christmas, you ask? It has everything to do with Christmas. Our society has long since forgotten that Christmas is not about sales and decorations. It is about welcoming the King of Glory into the world as a baby. We do it all for our salvation. I ask a…

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Count the Cost

A bundle of 100 dollars on a table

Our society is infatuated with debt. We borrow money to purchase ‘what we want, when we want it’ no matter how much it costs. With Christmas still on our minds, many are dreading the coming credit card bill to discover just how much they spent this year on the holidays. Many will never know. They…

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Don’t Pack Christmas Away Just Yet

Father and son sleeping on the couch

Shortly after the birth of Christ, Joseph was warned in a dream to flee to Egypt with Christ and His Mother. The world was already out to ‘get’ Him. What a shame if the world had won in its battle against God. We know the story. Joseph took Christ and His Mother and left for…

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Sometimes Families Betray Each Other

The word Betrayal focused on a page

Nobody enjoys admitting it, but we all know at least one family that suffers from a broken relationship. We don’t often hear about these families on the nightly news. When we do, the story is so egregious, the sensationalist media can’t resist distributing the story. Every now and then we hear about a parent that…

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Time Change

It has become a normal part of life twice per year for the clock to change between Daylight Savings and Standard Time. Suddenly it is dark when it was light and light when it was dark. We eventually get accustomed to the time change, but not without it first affecting our bodies. The same is…

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Christian Progress

The word Progress written on the blackboard

Politicians enjoy throwing around the term ‘progressive’ as a banner of respect. I always find myself asking, “What are they progressing towards?” Progress implies a goal. Don’t skip today’s post. It isn’t about politics. It is about progress, but not the sort that politicians praise. Christian progress is moving toward God. Christian progress won’t get…

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An Elderly Joseph, the Virgin Mary and Sexuality

A praying area with candles at a church

Originally posted December 7, 2015. Each year I find myself reminding people, and quite frankly becoming exasperated, about the truth of Joseph and Mary. As Orthodox Christians we teach that Joseph was a righteous old man in his seventies when he, by lot, was blessed to be the caretaker for the Panagia, the Theookos and…

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