2024 Advent Calendar Templates are now available! Click Here!
I have been writing the Praying in Color blog for over a dozen years. The entries include theological musings, memoir, reflections on life and Scripture, and hundreds of posts on ways to incorporate Praying in Color into your prayer and spiritual life. In the search bar you can type words like “Scripture, Advent, Lent, calendar templates, intercessory prayer, mourning, gratitude, forgiveness…” or other topics of interest to find related posts. I hope you enjoy exploring this site.
Using an Advent calendar is one of my favorite ways to prepare and pray in the days leading up to Christmas. Unlike the store-bought versions, my calendars have no doors, just blank spaces for the days of Advent. Instead of tearing apart a calendar day by day, I...
For kids, the transition from summer vacation to a new school-year can be both a time of excitement and anticipation AND a time of fear and anxiety. Readying kids for school involves practical and physical preparations. Checking out wardrobes, replacing outgrown...
Welcome Easter Day Canceling Lent's dark, grim way Again and again.
“Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tested by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over he was famished.” (Matthew 4:1-2 NRSV) One of my...
And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. (Luke 4, 1-2 NRSV) Wilderness comes in many forms. After ten months in Jerusalem and the land...
The expression “O Antiphons” was new to me a few years ago. But to my surprise, I have been singing the “O Antiphons” for most of my life in the Advent/Christmas carol “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” The antiphons are descriptors of the expected Messiah and express the...
This coming Sunday, November 27, is the first day of Advent. See the previous post, November 1, for Advent Calendar templates and ways to use them. Happy Thanksgiving! This post is a reprise of last year's. If I could offer something other than a turkey template, I...
Using an Advent calendar is my favorite way to pay attention and pray during the four weeks of Advent. Unlike the store-bought versions, my calendars have no doors, just blank spaces for the days of Advent. Each day I write a name or word and surround it with doodles...
Trees on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan are busy transitioning from their full-spectrum-of-green cloaks to their rich red, orange, and gold autumn wardrobe. In response to this magnificent change, the conversation as we drive along the edge of Lake Superior and on US...