Lenten Blog

Tag: Advent

  • Hide and Seek

    I spent the Thanksgiving holiday with my family in the country.  I was asked by the children to play Hide and Seek. I was then asked if I wanted to be a Hider or a Seeker.  I chose the Hider role and I hid so well, I wasn’t found.   They gave up looking and surrendered.…

  • Walking a Difficult Path with my Mother

    A couple of years ago,  I was in the waiting room of my mother’s doctor’s office.  I was sitting with my mother.  We were there so she could have a full physical before moving into an assisted living facility.  Like most elderly parents, she was not supporting this move.  But, I knew that she could…

  • Two Different Worlds

    My life’s most significant journey has involved a wide road, two circles, a choice at a fork and a complete change of direction. After leaving home at 19 in search of freedom and satisfaction, I chose to walk on a broad, well-populated trail. It started out feeling liberating, good and right. It led to turmoil…

  • Happy Trails to You…

    A song of my youth that Dale Evans and Roy Rogers planted in my memory bank; a song paired with a parting shot of them gently lumbering off into the sunset on horseback. “Until we meet again”, the second line in the song, presented a hopeful farewell for the days to come; an optimistic belief…

  • Advent Cradle Psalms

    A Litany in Three Voices  How can this be? the question is asked. Dear Little Babe, bidden into life, what is the pathway? Whose permission do you ask to be born? To whom do you sing?   Mama, may I come alive in you? Mama, will you carry me? Mama, will you see me through…

  • GOD’S PRESENCE ALONG THE JOURNEY

    It was a beautiful October Saturday and the Marble Church family was apple picking at Hurds Family Farm in the Catskill Mountains. When my group had gone through all the rows of apples, we ventured into a very small wooded area. On that site was what they call the “Hurds Famous Weather Rock.” Intrigued we…

  • Amaryllis

    Amaryllis bulbs are a metaphor for hope. Hope is God’s promise when it is a dark time for us, when we cannot see signs of change or the possibility of growth. One has to wait and be patient…hope is not a quick fix!  The hope which God gives us provides a place to stand that…

  • In the Bleak Midwinter

    For so many, the darkest days of the year that lead up to December 21st, the first day of winter are bleak.  Last night, I watched coverage about a massive snow storm in Romania and the rainy weekend the Northeast endured where many are wondering when the rain will end. My Sunday was spent in…

  • Day 12: Some thoughts from Henri Nouwen

    As Advent is amongst us, may we, as children of God, run with joy to unwrap our gifts of the Spirit, praying, playing, living boldly in Christ’s love. The following is a compilation of thoughts on courage from one of my favorite theologians, Henri Nouwen. Enjoy! – Patrice Donnell On Courage: “Have courage,” we often say to…

  • Day 10: Finding our Forgotten Gifts, So We Can Use Them

    Shared by Karen Gourgey Advent, especially for children is a time of expectation, expectation of what, we don’t know, but it’s fascinating, a little mysterious, and even for adults, in our heart of hearts, are we maybe still looking for something magic, a miracle, something that will change things and make everything good. But what…