The Angel Gabriel Visits Mary

Enjoy an old story retold in a new way. I'll be uploading these unique videos all during the Advent season.
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Light an Advent Candle

Lesson: Today is the first Sunday in Advent; the season of expectation. Today we light the prophecy candle in our Advent wreath. This candle reminds us that God lovingly revealed Christ's first advent through the prophets hundreds of years prior to his birth. The color purple symbolizes penitence and royalty to remind us to prepare our hearts to humbly receive our King.

Scripture: Isaiah 40:1-5

Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD’s hand double for all her sins. A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the LORD; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.” 

Prayer: Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Hymn: O Come O Come Emmanuel

O come, O come, Emmanuel

And ransom captive Israel

That mourns in lonely exile here

Until the Son of God appear

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Happy Thanksgiving

We gather together to ask the Lord’s blessing;

He chastens and hastens His will to make known.
The wicked oppressing now cease from distressing.

Sing praises to His Name; He forgets not His own.

Beside us to guide us, our God with us joining,

Ordaining, maintaining His kingdom divine;

So from the beginning the fight we were winning;

Thou, Lord, were at our side, all glory be Thine! 

We all do extol Thee, Thou Leader triumphant,

And pray that Thou still our Defender will be.

Let Thy congregation escape tribulation;

Thy Name be ever praised! O Lord, make us free!

Not You, We Named the Puppy Jack

We've been searching for weeks for the perfect pup. Meet Captain Jack our new miniature Schnauzer.

This is him on his first day with us.

Today the groomer came and did his magic. Washed, brushed, blown dry, clipped, and even adorned with a new bandanna all for the unbelievable price of $150 pesos (that's only about $12 US dollars).

And to top it all off, the groomer actually came to our home to do it all!

Ya gotta love Mexico.

The Ruins of Teotihuacán

It's pronounced teh-oh-tee-wa-khan, in case you were wondering. Teotihuacán means place where gods were born. The Aztecs believed that the gods created the universe here.

The Pyramid of the Sun is the larger of two pyramids located here at the ruins of Teotihuacán. We climbed all 250 lung-wrenching steps. No easy feat especially since we are already at 7,000 feet above sea level.

Proof that we completed the climb. The Pyramid of the Moon is behind us. 

The Pyramid of the Moon has 180 steps to the top. It is located at the end of Calzada de los Muertos or the Avenue of the Dead. 

Olivia, Wesley, and Sophia take a well-deserved break.

It was a little easier going down, but our legs were still a bit wobbly.

Another view of the Avenue of the Dead. Ceremonial rituals, including human sacrifices were timed with the appearance of Venus. 

Numerous tombs with human remains have been uncovered at the foundations of the buildings. 

Another view of the Pyramid of the Sun. Merchants line this particular corridor facing the pyramid. 

Although, occupation of the area began around 500 B.C. it wasn't until 400 years later that construction of the Pyramid of the Sun commenced.

Inhabitants of Teotihuacán mysteriously disappeared around A.D. 700.

All that's left are these excavated artifacts of pottery, jewelry, and skeletal remains.

We enjoyed our history lesson and hope to return some day.

He Was Everything She Was Not

He was everything she was not. She was not a man, a religious leader, nor even a Jew. In cultural retrospect, no one would have expected much from her. Yet she engaged Jesus in one of the most spiritually insightful conversations in Scripture.

Jesus stopped at Jacob’s well to find respite, the woman to quench her thirst. Interestingly, each discovered what they were looking for that day, albeit not in the manner expected. Jesus’ request for water prompted the woman to ask questions concerning acceptance and propriety. These gave way to inquiries pertaining to appropriate worship and then ultimately to her recognition and acceptance of who Jesus was.

For his part, Jesus responded thoughtfully to the woman’s every question and concern.  He was not patronizing nor condescending. On the contrary, his responses suggested that he considered the woman capable of comprehending and assimilating spiritual truth. Notably, the Samaritan woman was the first person to whom Jesus clearly stated, “I am the Messiah.” The Samaritan woman had a startling encounter with the truth that day and consequently many Samaritans believed because of her testimony.

She was a woman, an outcast, and a Samaritan. By all appearances, she was everything he was not. Yet her encounter with the Christ that day revealed a woman of substance. She was a child of God, a theologian, and an evangelist. Clearly, she was everything he expected her to be.

Él Era Todo Que Ella No Era

Él era todo que ella no era. Ella no era hombre, una líder religiosa, ni siquiera judía. En retrospectivo cultural, nadie habría esperado mucho más de ella. Sin embargo, ella ocupó Jesús en una de las conversaciones más profundas anotadas espiritualmente en la Escritura.

Jesús se detuvo en el pozo de Jacob para encontrar respiro, la mujer para satisfacer su sed. Interesantemente, cada uno encontró lo que ellos estaban buscando eso día, aunque no en la manera esperada. La petición de Jesús para agua indujo a la mujer para hacer preguntas sobre la aceptación y el decoro. Condujeron a preguntas sobre el culto apropiado y pues el último a su reconocimiento y aceptación de quien era Jesús.

Por su parte, Jesús respondió pensativamente a cada pregunta y la preocupación de la mujer. Él no era condescendiendo ni menospreciando. Al contrario, sus respuestas indicaron que él consideraba la mujer competente de comprender y asimilar la verdad espiritual. Notablemente, la mujer de Samaria era la primera persona a quien Jesús dijo claramente, “Soy el Mesías.” La mujer de Samaria tuvo un encuentro sorprendente con la verdad ese día y por consiguiente muchos de los samaritanos creyeron por su testimonio.

Ella era mujer, una marginada, y una Samaritana. Según todas las apariencias, ella era toda que él no era. Sin embargo, su encuentro con el Cristo ese día reveló una mujer de la sustancia. Ella era una hija de Dios, teóloga, y evangelista. Claramente, ella era toda lo que él esperaba que ella sea. 

All Saints Day

Throughout church history, believers have honored the memory of saints and their sacrifices on this day. Lesbia Scott, loving mother and wife of an Anglican priest wrote I Sing a Song of the Saints of God for her children to commemorate their memories.

We sang this song in the Episcopal Church when I was a child. I always loved it and in fact, we made a special request to have it sung on the day of Wesley’s baby dedication.

The song reminds us that saints come from every walk of life; their lives are a testament to their faithfulness, an example to follow.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Hebrews 12:1

I sing a song of the saints of God,

Patient and brave and true,

Who toiled and fought and lived and died

For the Lord they loved and knew.

And one was a doctor, and one was a queen,

And one was a shepherdess on the green:

They were all of them saints of God—and I mean,

God helping, to be one too.

They loved their Lord so dear, so dear,

And his love made them strong;

And they followed the right, for Jesus’ sake,

The whole of their good lives long.

And one was a soldier, and one was a priest,

And one was slain by a fierce wild beast:

And there’s not any reason—no, not the least,

Why I shouldn’t be one too.

They lived not only in ages past,

There are hundreds of thousands still,

The world is bright with the joyous saints

Who love to do Jesus’ will.

You can meet them in school, or in lanes, or at sea,

In church, or in trains, or in shops, or at tea,

For the saints of God are just folk like me,

And I mean to be one too.