Acceptable Words

“A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold In settings of silver.” Proverbs 25:11 2020 was a difficult and unsettling year, which included a pandemic and a divisive national election. Harsh rhetoric and half-truths stirred up anger and strife, even among followers of...

Flores de Noche Buena (Flowers of the Holy Night)

THE POINSETTIA There is a Mexican legend that a poor Mexican girl named Pepita had no gift for the Baby Jesus for her church’s Christmas Eve service. Having nothing else, she picked a small bouquet of weeds and placed them at the bottom of the nativity scene....

CHRISTMAS BELLS

CHRISTMAS BELLS When you think of bells at Christmastime, what comes to mind? Jingle bells? Sleigh bells? Church bells? Hand bells? Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote his poem “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day” during a time of deep personal and national turmoil. The...

Giraffe Story

A recent visit to Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, NY, reminded me how much I love giraffes. Do you have a favorite wild animal? A granddaughter requested a giraffe story for her birthday several years ago. I did some research because I wanted the story to be...