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I inherited a beautiful metal Advent wreath from my grandparents. Inscribed in colorful block letters around the candles are the words: “a Light shines in the night.” Every night, as our family sits down for dinner, we light a candle for each week of…
After graduating college, I did what I always told myself I would never do, I moved back home. I love home, I love the people at and around home, but I always pictured myself starting an adventure somewhere new and probably far away. But moving back…
During the holidays, I always find myself reflecting on the past year and thinking about the changes that have taken place since the Christmas before. With the celebration of Christ’s birth, I’m reminded of a new beginning, a new year, a fresh start,…
This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. – Psalms 118:24 Thinking about joy within the past year is hard. We’ve all gone through so much, so many unknowns and fear-filled hearts. But our family has been lucky to see great…
In March of 2020, the pandemic shut down most of the country, including the school where I work. Instead of teaching in person, I was tasked with facilitating online learning to a group of first-graders – no easy task, I assure you. At the time, I al…
When I think of the birth of Jesus and all the blessings and gifts we enjoy because of his birth it is hard to stop because there are so many seen and unseen. One of God’s gifts to us includes being silently behind our goodness. It is not our goodnes…
I never thought I would say this but, I’m glad I owned my Chevy Cruze. I was 20 and had just finished my sophomore year of college. I signed up for a few summer classes at the local community college. All I needed was a summer job to save up money an…
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Looking at St. Paul’s website today I noticed the “Christmas Pageant Auditions” request. It immediately made me smile at all the memories of joy and excitement I felt as a child & adult as we prepared for the “Christmas Story” weeks in advance of…
Vignette #1: Friends on Facebook may by now be getting tired of seeing a particular post. A former student, now a good friend, recalls a quote of mine from a class about 20 years ago. She posts this every year in early December: “I don’t care what pa…
♫ I love you in the summertime and the wintertime and all the time. ♫ Twenty-one. That’s how many beautiful years my Grandpa Pecoraro and I were gratefully able to spend together. The first was Easter which occurred that year just about a month after…
About fifteen years ago, when my daughters were little and we lived in the northern suburbs of Chicago, I was the director of Vacation Bible School at our church. Our theme one year was “Bethlehem Village,” and it was one of my favorite VBS themes ev…
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The word “joy” has special meaning for me. My story starts like many: I grew up in a loving home with my parents, and my big sister, Jenny. Jenny had an accident when she was 2 ½ that left her intellectually and physically disabled. This is the part…