Like many families, we—Bret’s parents, my parents and our little family of five—have lots of family traditions or habits. Let me just share a sampling with you. One, my mother-in-law likes to buy everyone in the family special flannel pajamas, which we open on Christmas Eve, don immediately and wear all Christmas morning, as well. [...]

With the frenzy (read: panic) involved in finding the perfect Christmas gift, most folks eventually realize that gifts of the heart—homemade items, baked goods, the gift of time—mean more to our loved ones than anything we could ever buy. My mom came right out and asked for such a gift a couple of years back. [...]

Christmas surrounds us–music, lights, decorations. While I enjoy all these things, I struggle with keeping the birth of Jesus front and center in all the holiday hubbub and excess. If you need a little help in this arena, consider purchasing A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts. I co-authored this book (Leafwood, 2008) with some amazing women–Cathy [...]

Good morning! Ready or not, here come “the holidays!” Tomorrow marks exactly one week before Thanksgiving, the traditional start of the holiday season that concludes with New Year’s. To get us all in the mood, I’m posting the first of the devotionals from One Thousand Gift Receipts: A Holi-Devo. If you like it, I hope [...]

As Thanksgiving rapidly approaches, I thought I’d offer you another glimpse of the holi-devo. Here’s another sample devotional from One Thousand Gift Receipts.  November 27 Christmas Tree   “I am the true grapevine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they [...]

What a weird week this is! The time between Christmas and New Year’s proves strange for several reasons: The kids are off school—which means they’re around all the time. I like that part, but it makes completing work next to impossible. Maybe that’s why my husband heads to the office by 7:30 . . . [...]

Need a few fresh ideas to spruce up your Christmas decorations? Don’t let the fact that you need to pinch pennies turn you into a Grinch. These ideas are easy, fun and cheap! This year I don’t have time or extra funds to purchase additional decorations. But that’s OK because I still have a few [...]