Author: Jocelyn

  • When it comes to Christian sports karma, I say we leave God out of it!

    —

    by

    Jocelyn
    in

    First: I am a sports fan. In fact, I’d place myself somewhere on the scale between “devoted” and “avid.” I am from the Northwest, so a lot of my regional teams have had a tradition of losing for most of my short lifetime. (Seahawks football; Mariners baseball; Washington State University everything, anyone?) One cannot be…

  • Rest for “Life’s Crushing Load”

    —

    by

    Jocelyn
    in ,

                    At church yesterday we sang “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear” to the quirky-beautiful plucking of Lyndi’s ukelele. We sang all the verses. The third resonated somewhere deep in my heart: “And ye, beneath life’s crushing load, Whose forms are bending low, Who toil along the climbing…

  • 12 Simple Christmas Traditions: Unique Ideas to Bring Your Family Together this Season

    —

    by

    Jocelyn
    in , , , ,

    A short word before the list: It’s never too late to start a tradition! There are several beloved traditions among my adult siblings and I that weren’t begun until we were in high school or college, and that have since ceased to be. Perhaps we will revive them when our children are older. I guess some…

  • The Passions of Christ’s Advent, a devotional.

    —

    by

    Jocelyn
    in , , ,

    One year ago, at Christmastime, a dear friend of mine gave me a devotional for the season of advent. It was beautiful and inspiring: a series of printed cards that I displayed on a garland in my home, along with a paragraph of thoughts for each day. Fast forward to a couple of months ago.…

  • Jesus is alive.

    —

    by

    Jocelyn
    in

    This week a Jehovah’s Witness came to my door. She gave me a flyer advertising an event at her church on April 14 celebrating the “Memorial of Jesus’ Death.” As she described the event to me in 20 seconds, she used the words “Jesus’ death” at least four times. I was stunned. She thinks Jesus…

  • Happy last day of the month!

    —

    by

    Jocelyn
    in ,

    “The happiness of even a little bit of money left in your bank account at the end of the month far outweighs the happiness of whatever you bought yourself instead (assuming you can remember what it even was).” my wise, young friend, Amanda Fay LaPlante

  • How many kids should we have?

    —

    by

    Jocelyn
    in , , , , ,

    The whole issue of choosing whether or not to have children, when to have children, and how many children to have is extremely multi-faceted. It is an issue that has preoccupied recent generations far more than the generations preceding us simply due to the sponsorship of its patron saint: birth controls.* I know you know…

  • Ritual

    —

    by

    Jocelyn
    in , ,

    2boys and I have established a little ritual that we do on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings right before we leave our church. They made it up all on their own. On our way out, we go to the hallway that connects the main office hallway with the chapel and the lounge. It is a…

  • “Done!”

    —

    by

    Jocelyn
    in ,

    Do you ever have those moments when several things you’ve been reading, hearing, thinking about, meditating on, all come together at once in a crystal clear and profound way? And in the midst of all of that lucidity, you get all teary and feeling grateful and everyone around you is probably thinking, ‘What’s with her???’ Well a…

  • Happy New Year! & #cruconf

    —

    by

    Jocelyn
    in , , ,

    Happy New Year!                 I’m still feeling so blessed and refreshed in my heart from spending the last few days of 2013 hanging out and catching up with so many close friends at Cru Conference – all staying in the same hotel and many of them freed of their…