The Kingdom of God Drawn Near

Light first purple candle - The Hope Candle Are you familiar with the Advent tradition of the Jesse Tree? While a practice first started in medieval times, Jesse Trees have been used throughout the ages to help tell the story of the Bible from creation to the birth of the Christ Child. Jesse Trees came back into fashion, at least within the christian communities I am part of, about 15 years ago. J...

Light first purple candle - The Hope Candle “Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You’re my only hope .” This famous line spoken by Princess Leia in the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope , takes me right back to the movie theater in Marietta, GA, where I saw it for the first time with my parents. In this scene, Leia delivers a holographic message via the droid R2-D2, conveying information vital to...

Snakes scare the living daylights out of me. The only snake I can tolerate is one in a glass box in the reptile house of a zoo or a dead one. However, a huge black snake lives in an old oak tree in our front yard. We’re talking at least ten feet long. How do I know this, you might ask? Last fall we had to have the tree trimmed by a tree company. I had previously noticed the occasional rodent skele...

It doesn’t really make sense, does it? I wondered about this color choice as well when I was first introduced to the symbols of Advent. In a house full of red and green all December, these oddly colored candles stand out. Honestly, that is exactly the point! Perhaps a quick lesson on the symbols of Advent would be helpful. The Advent Wreath The circular shape of the wreath represents the eternal n...

It happens almost every year…I get so wrapped up in fall and its delicious smells, fun colors and events, the first Sunday of Advent usually takes me by surprise. This is often the cycle …I’ve waited until the Monday before Thanksgiving to start decorating the house, creating the menu and grocery list and setting the table for our Thanksgiving meal. While I am gathering the Thanksgiving napkins an...

When our oldest daughter was 3-years-old, she began asking to play the violin. To this day, I don’t know why this instrument captivated her so. No one on either side of her family played stringed instruments, other than my amateur attempts at the piano and my father’s ukulele. Eventually, at age 6, we gave in to her pleadings to play the violin. We bought a tiny violin and secured a Suzuki-trained...

An Advent Prayer The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of our God’s vengeance; to comfort all who mourn, to provide for those who mourn in Zion; to give them a crown of beaut...

What Does Advent Mean? Advent. Derived from the Latin word “ adventus ,” advent means “ arrival ” or “ coming ,” more specifically the coming of Jesus into the world. Christians around the world and for centuries have set aside the four Sundays and weeks of Advent to prepare their hearts and homes to remember the real meaning of Christmas, when God’s Promise Through Generations was fulfilled in a...

Hi everyone, and thanks for subscribing to my Substack. I realize that there is an innumerable amount of written content you can engage with on a daily basis and I’m honored that you would choose to read some of what God is working in my heart and mind. I’ve taken a few months off from sharing my writing on this platform since #LentenDaily 2025, The Kingdom of God Drawn Near ended. You might ask w...

Jaukeem Fortson's Performance of "God Only Knows" Blows the Coaches Away | The Voice Knockouts | NBC (start to 0:49) It doesn’t happen frequently, but every once in a while you hear something come out of a child’s mouth that simply blows you away. It’s hard to make sense of such things! As the youngest competitor of NBC’s The Voice last season, 13-year-old Jaukeem Fortson's mature voice and heartf...

Before we get started with today’s devotion, I want to make you aware of a couple of details. First, today’s devotion and next week’s will be our last in the #LentenDaily 2025 Devotional series. This coming Sunday will be Pentecost, or the 50th day since Easter and Jesus’ resurrection. Today we’ll dig into what happened when God’s gift of the Holy Spirit showed up in Jerusalem and next week we’ll...

President George W. Bush presents the Presidential Medal of Freedom to legendary radio personality, Paul Harvey (2005) Growing up, I loved listening to Paul Harvey’s show, The Rest of the Story. These short 3-4 minute episodes were the perfect length and always resulted in me exclaiming, “No way!” This sample is no exception. Before we get started with our reading from Acts, let’s listen to “Two H...

There are certain historic events that are seared into our memories…D Day, the assassinations of JFK and Martin Luther King, 9/11. The Space Shuttle Challenger mission which ended in disaster is definitely one of those for me. I was a sophomore at the University of Georgia that crisp January morning of 1986. I had rushed back from my first class to Rutherford Hall, the dormitory where I lived that...

Recently, Dale and I moved to Hartwell, Georgia, and bought a home right in a peaceful cove on Lake Hartwell. We both love being on the water, so having a home that allows for lakeviews from every room feels like a dream come true. It also is a “coming home” of sorts. I remember growing up in the Atlanta suburbs and taking trips to Lake Hartwell with the whole Brewer clan - my grandparents, aunts...

“Previously on The West Wing”…Dale and I have very few shows or movies that we equally enjoy, “The West Wing” and “ER” being at the top of that list. As a matter of fact, we regularly rewatch these beloved series, taking months to watch 1-2 episodes per sitting. “Previously on The West Wing”…I can’t remember which season of “The West Wing" this technique of memory retrieval was employed, but I do...

“What’s that sound?” My young 12-year-old body began to panic as I remembered that I was alone in our home, yet my brother’s R2-D2 toy was making all kinds of noise. The original Star Wars movie had just come out in 1977 and Ben had received an electronic replica of the faithful droid for Christmas that year. Battery-operated, this R2-D2 toy made all of the authentic sounds and beeps and moved aro...

Welcome to the expanded edition of #LentenDaily2025, The Kingdom of God Drawn Near. While the Lenten season came to an end as we celebrated Christ’s resurrection two days ago, we’re not quite finished yet. That’s right, we’re going to continue this study through early June, peeking in on important highlights of Jesus’ resurrection appearances, His ascension to heaven and the gift of the Holy Spiri...

He is Risen…Indeed! Happy Easter! We made it!! It was a long and beautiful lenten season and I’m so grateful that you chose to observe it with me. Today, as you celebrate this Resurrection Sunday with family, friends and your church family, you may hear people say, “He is Risen!” The appropriate response is, “He is Risen indeed!” In case you are wondering where this ‘ paschal greeting, ’ also know...

Sabbath’s morning is eerily quiet throughout Jerusalem, as Jewish people awaken and ponder the previous day’s happenings. Jesus, the Messiah, was dead. How could it be? Everyone had been so hopeful just a week earlier, as He rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, to shouts of honor and pleas to save. But now it was over, a beautiful life ended. All of their hopes dashed. CityAlight, the music ministry o...

I have a serious problem with blood. While my favorite color is red, whenever I see blood, I immediately become lightheaded. Sometimes I even faint. When I was a young mother, actually pregnant with our fourth child, our 3-year-old son was running through the house, chasing his sisters. I was in the kitchen, cleaning up from lunch, when I heard a scream, followed by cries for help. I rushed into t...

It was January 2023. Dale and I had made the decision to move from Arlington, VA, to our mountain home community in western North Carolina. We had been in the Washington, DC area for almost 14 years. Our kids had all graduated from high school and launched from there. We had amazing friends, a wonderful church and satisfying, meaningful work, but felt that God was calling us away. And so began all...

I’m not good at judging distance. I regularly underestimate how far away something is. Actually, now that I think about it, I underestimate many things - money, time. I usually round down when sharing how much something costs with Dale and I always think I have time to get one more thing done in my day. Several years ago, three dear friends came to visit me in Washington, DC. We hadn’t been living...

I’ll admit it. I am easily persuaded by a convincing argument. Several years ago I was chosen to be part of a jury in a criminal trial. The evidence was fairly conclusive - there was even a recording of a call the defendant made to a loved one from jail, admitting to the crime. And yet, every time the defense attorney would speak, I would be convinced that he had a point. In the closing arguments,...

Your 12-month-old darling is sitting in her high chair, digging into breakfast. Her chubby fingers try to hold the child-sized fork you’ve given her, but the eggs keep slipping off the end, frustrating her. Not wanting to jump in and solve her problem, you encourage and model, but try to let her figure it out. Suddenly, your toddler has had enough and pushes the fork, her plate and breakfast off h...

Happy Palm Sunday! It is Sunday again and our sixth and final Lenten Feast Day!! On this Lord’s Day, enjoy worshiping with your church family through songs and hymns, through the reading and teaching of God’s Word, through giving cheerfully, and enjoying the blessed gift of food, chocolate, social media, or anything you may have set aside for your Lenten promise. Palm Sunday officially kicks off w...