Lent …the 40 day period leading up to Easter. It’s one of the most important times of the year for me, beginning on Ash Wednesday, and continuing through Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday… until Easter morning, when we exclaim, “He Is Risen!” For me…Lent is a time to renewal. A time of reflection. A time for me to be still, and reflect on His Holy Spirit within my life!

What brought you to the Lowcountry? That was the common question asked of members of my community when we moved into our homes

Empty As my current Bible Study is working through the historical books of the Old Testament, my eyes are being opened on

It was almost the end of January and my Christmas tree was still up. The rest of the house had been cleared of Christmas decorations, but the one tree remained, its branches full of meaningful ornaments that brought back decades of fond memories. None of the usual shining Christmas balls, but carefully chosen pieces from shared lives and festive gatherings. There was the butterfly necklace that I wore as a young teen; a wooden turtle to represent those my husband collected before we were married; several Baby’s First Christmas reminders of my 40 year old son’s birth; olive wood carvings from my two trips to Israel; handmade creations by me, my grandchildren and my friend Anita; hollowed sparkling eggs and pasta angels from the days I taught the young in Sunday school; ornaments for each of our pets; family ornaments from celebrations in the years since my grandsons were born; White House ornaments and years of collectible gold ornaments that we bought for a ‘family legacy’ for our young son. Scattered amongst these were angels of various types, especially the beautiful oyster shell creations from the TCOTC Craft Bazaar. And then, there was this resin Christmas tree.

I have shared with anyone who will listen about how much I have loved doing the Bible Recap over the past few years. Bible Recap is a way of going through the Bible in chronological order. Each day, after reading the day's scripture, you can listen to a helpful explanation of what you just read. I thought I would finish it one year and then do another Bible reading plan. And one year I might actually do that. But for now, I am still learning and growing in God’s word each time through.

It is a season of giving. Earlier and earlier, the stores and online shopping outlets advertise for “Holiday” gift shopping — Christmas, Chanukah,

What we originally thought would be two weeks to flatten the curve has turned into eight months of chaos and uncertainty, impacting

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Count your many blessings, name them one by one. Count your many blessings and see what God has done! Are you already

Lately, there  are many places to “pick a side”. A lot of trying to figure out the right answer to everything. The virus brought with it several choices- to grow stronger as a country or to let it start to destroy us.  My hope was that, just as our country had done before, we would pull together in a crisis more than ever. Initially, it seemed we were doing just that!  We focused on the positives coming from slowing down and being at home and saw the good that was being created even out of a bad situation. We saw ways God was working in families and lives that could not have happened at any other time. But there also was a restlessness that seemed to creep in, and then every day became another day to pick a side. You could choose to wear gloves or not, wear a mask or not, speak up or be silent, protest or not, and even pick a political side. I found myself very frustrated and misunderstood and unable to know when and how to express what I truly valued. Even agreeing with an article could be taken the wrong way.