The cross is empty, the tomb is empty and - on Easter - churches are full. Alleluia!

Looking back over the past few weeks - I've been reflecting on the Easter Sunday experience. Did your church do anything different? Special music or more musicians? More flowers and other decor? Did the people sitting around you differ from your Sunday regulars? Ladies and girls in Easter dresses; men and boys in Easter suits - or at least a little dressier than usual?

Now - what about the week after Easter? Did that Easter experience, either during the worship service or during their visit to your website, bring them back the next week?

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"On the twelfth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me - 12 drummers drumming ... "

12 days of Christmas gifts, each day growing in the size and number of gifts. It has become our nature to focus on the gifts in each of these verses, or to think we could never be as generous as this giver, rationalizing that all these gifts are excessive. Perhaps we need to open ourselves more to accepting our worthiness as a recipient. continue reading ...

"On the eleventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me - 11 pipers piping ... "

Not only is today the 11th day of Christmas, it is also our granddaughter's birthday - double cause for celebration! As we drove to have dinner tonight, we passed by a home that has an awesome tree they light every year as Christmas approaches. It is one of the highlights of my daily commute during December. Tonight, I noticed the tree was no longer lit. A sign that Christmas is coming to a close. continue reading ...

"On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me - 10 lords a-leaping ... "

10 days - when they lie ahead of you, they seem to stretch on forever, especially when spent in anticipation. But, when they lie behind you, they passed too quickly. Observing Christmas every day for 12 days has served to both expand and compress time around me. Don't you wish you could have just pressed "Pause" on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? continue reading ...

"On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me - nine ladies dancing ... "

This is turning into quite a party - all sorts of delicacies and now the dancing starts! What do you have to dance about?

As I've gone through each of the days of Christmas, I've been focusing on a single day at a time. Now, for some reason, I have stepped back and taken a look at the whole season and the gifts bestowed. The carol is turning out to be a recipe - for a party! continue reading ...