Third Friday of Advent: Something Beautiful, Something Good from Birthdays

Our Family, December 2025

Close your eyes and make 

a wish - blow out the candles

let yourself be loved

Christmas Day 2024

Gingerbread House Ornament, December 2024

 

Wishing you a place

where your heart is light and free

at home in great love

Advent, Day 24: Christmas Eve

Doves in the treetop, December 2024

 

Fill my heart's blue sky

with a cote of doves who sing

the unbroken song

* Tonight in Christmas Eve worship we sang " I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and they include the line, "the unbroken song." 

Advent Day 23: Where love grows

Squash Blossom, December 2024

Life and love can grow 

through every barrier we 

pin and nail in place

Advent Day 22: An old story

The Year of the Perfect Christmas Tree by Gloria Houston
Pictures by Barbara Cooney

 

Find an old story

fall in love with it again

let it light your way

Advent, Day 21: Beckoning the light

Celosia, December 2024

 

Sudden burst of pink

you brighten winter solstice 

beckoning the light

Advent, Day 20: Embracing all of life

Dandelion, December 2024

 

Wild dandelions 

embrace all of life, perhaps

you and I can too

Advent, Day 19: The play of light

Pink Poinsettia, December 2024

This December day

let your winter heart bloom and

join the play of light

Advent, Day 18: Connections

Web in the morning light, December 2024

 

Bless the shining strands

almost invisible, yet

they connect us all

Advent, Day 16: "Tis the Season

'Tis the Season, December 2024
Art by Riley Anderson

 

The Spirit begins

to swirl among and between

and within us all

Advent, Day 15: A bright reminder

La Luna, December 2024

 

A bright reminder

to keep searching and seeking

Advent's nighttime skies

Advent, Day 13: More than just the one

Zinnia, December 2024

My sights focused on

the one bloom, but believe me - 

there were many more

* I took a quick photo of this lush zinnia just as I was meeting a friend for lunch.  When I saw it again tonight, I remembered there were lots of other blooms in the same patch - lantana, rosemary, and turk's cap among them. Even though I focused in on the one flower, there were so many more all around . It reminds me that none of us bloom on our own. If we are paying attention, we'll see that we are in the company many others coming into their own fullness and beauty. Lord, give us eyes to see.

 

Advent, Day 12: What do you see first?

Okra Bloom, December 2024

I first see the bloom

and team up with the leaf crowd

asking what's to come

My gaze moves on to 

a humble sturdy fence and 

a faithful trellis

Let's offer our thanks

for blooms and leaves and fences

and those who tend them

Advent, Day 9: Abundance

Dragon's Breath Celosia, December 2024

 Everywhere I go

the abundance of Advent

appears on my path

An abundance of

hope, mystery, joy, and love

fill our Advent days

Advent Day 8: Small Mercies

Glossy Abelia, December 2024

 

Blooms in December

tiny treasures, small mercies

as winter arrives

Advent, Day 7: The pattern of love

 

Wallpaper, December 2024

The pattern of Love

runs up and down, side to side

through all of our days

Advent, Day 6: Dear Vincent

Afternoon Walk, December 2024

 

Dear Vincent, in my

imagination you are

around the corner

* One an afternoon walk, I was charmed by the rust red leaves. When I look at the colors in the photo, I imagine they would charm Vincent Van Gogh as well. 

Advent, Day 5: Breath after Breath

Echinacea, December 2024

Soft petals of prayer

breath after breath I ask God

to look after you

* Join me in praying for a friend in need of God's healing.

Advent Day 4: A true friend

Chinese Lantern flower, December 2024

 

To have a true friend

is to walk by lantern light

through all kinds of nights

* The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; for those living in a land of deep darkness, a light has shined upon them. (Isaiah 9:2) When we are "the people in great darkness" - and we have not yet seen "the great light", the lantern love of friends is everything. 

Advent, Day 3: A Blessing

 

Hibiscus on the back porch, December 2024

May you discover

the blazing beauty at the 

center of your heart