I didn’t grow up in a church tradition that observed the liturgical calendar and so my understanding of Lent was limited to giving up chocolate and coffee for forty days. Why would anyone sign up for that? As an adult, I’ve discovered that Lent is a much richer and meaningful tradition than I ever knew! […]
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We stood before the painting, side by side, admiring the larger-than-life flowers in a vase on the stool. My husband and I were on a day date while our kids were in school; usually we would grab a bite to eat between errands on a free day, but we were feeling fancy. Other museum guests […]
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Something has felt “off” in my writing life for over a year now. It took me a few months to discern the exact problem and a few months more to experiment with solutions. But today I’m ready to try something drastic and walk away from Instagram indefinitely. My writing is a ministry and a calling, […]
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We stand at the beginning of a brand new year, or a new season, or a new month, or a new day, and time stretches before us, waiting to be filled. And we have a pile of blocks beside us, ready to build something beautiful with the time we’ve been given. Some of the blocks […]
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My seven-year-old looked adorable in his basketball jersey. It hung down way past his waist, but he didn’t care. He was too excited for his first day of the basketball program through our YMCA: skills assessment day. He was one of the most enthusiastic participants on the gym floor, and we cheered him on from […]
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Reading is my favorite hobby, and this year I read over 80 titles! Narrowing down my favorite reads was an agonizing process, but I’d love to share my favorites with you here. I used the following categories to make it simpler: top fiction, best of young adult (YA), best of memoir, best Christian nonfiction, most […]
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Before the angels appeared to the shepherds on the hillside, there had been 400 years of silence. Between the pages of the Old Testament, and the New—a mere second for us to flip—lived a people waiting in anticipation of their Messiah. In those four hundred years, there had been no new word from God, no […]
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One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is spreading God’s love through gift giving! Most of the time, I’m not a huge fan of our consumerist culture which insists that I just need to buy more to be happy. But… I do believe that our consumerism can be redemptive! When we are thoughtful […]
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Now that Halloween is behind us, we are officially in the holiday season. Thanksgiving is right around the corner and Christmas comes on its heels. This was my favorite time of year as a child, and I still love it—but now as a mom, I understand how much work goes on behind the scenes to […]
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For many of us, fall ushers in a new kind of busy. We are finding our new rhythms for the school year. Extracurricular activities are starting up again. Seasonal holiday activities are on our minds. Home and garden projects demand our attention. And all of it crowds around our regular, daily to-do’s. We might miss […]
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Sarah K. Butterfield 