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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.
I stepped into our cozy, dorm-room shower this morning anticipating its usual, wonderful solar-hot water. By the time I was head-to-toe wet, it soaked into my brain: "This water is COLD!" Then I started my familiar rant: "Nothing is predictable here. Things are always...
Lent almost always surprises me. I choose the book/s I'll read and the Lenten calendar template I'll use with the book. I have the forty days well-planned; I am in control. Then I am spun around and led in a different direction. I often describe my doodling as "a line...
The pressure to send or not send Valentine's Day cards looms heavy for some of us. As a terrible gift giver, I am not a fan of the romantic weight of the holiday. If someone doesn't send me a card, does that mean they don't love me? If I don't send one to them, do I...
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) After almost four months in Jerusalem and the land of the Holy One, my idea...
Folk tales from traditions around the world posit that God created the Earth on the back of Mother Turtle. Why would God choose a turtle as the earth-bearer? (And who knew there were turtles before the world was even created?) The resumé of turtles makes them better...
Lights from Manger Square in Bethlehem and St. George's Cathedral in Jerusalem. Icon of Birth from St. George Chapel in the Greek Orthodox Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem Madonna in the Greek Orthodox Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem Cave (grotto) and Star--birth...
Many Christmas carols exalt nighttime: Oh Holy Night, Silent Night, O, Little Town of Bethlehem, Away in a Manger, While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks by Night.... Christmas carols are probably the reason I love nighttime and darkness. When the nights start to...
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 Our goal in the wilderness was not forty days, nor a run-in with the devil....
On a walk through the Old City on Friday about sunset, we went to the Jewish Quarter to see lights for the sixth day of Hanukkah outside people's homes. The Christian Quarter near St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church was beginning to display its Christmas...
1) Calendars Advent is my favorite season of the year. It gives me permission to be in both spiritual and religious mode for three to four weeks. My favorite practices are using the Advent wreath, keeping a visual Advent calendar, and reading some kind of daily...