MARK 6: 30-32 30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught. 31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” 32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place. MARK 1:35 “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus …

“There is no evidence on EEG to indicate abnormal activity or an active epilepsy. Assuming he has not had any seizures since I last saw him, we can proceed as planned to reduce the seizure medications,” so says our doctor, the expert. Whenever I hear the phrase “abnormal activity,” it sends me back to the good old X-Files days with Scully M.D. muttering over “paranormal activity” as Mulder scrambles down into some huge alien footprint. …

GENESIS 3:22-23  22And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” 23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.  PHILIPPIANS 2:9-11 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name …

The Netflix documentary “Jim and Andy: The Great Beyond,” chronicles Jim Carrey’s role as Andy Kaufman in “Man on the Moon” where Carrey stayed in character as Andy on and off the set. He wore the clothes, did the voice, held the attitude. In short, he was the biggest, weirdest, most antagonistic comic genius he could be. Until the producers told him to stop. Turns out you can’t live like that for long. You can’t …

And this is what I want to say to the parents of his future peers as we head toward kindergarten next year with a whole new set of kids who may or may not have ever been around a kid like mine: “Please keep inviting us. We can’t always make it work like we’d hope and sometimes we will have to say no, but whatever you do, don’t stop asking. Because he’s like any kid. …

ISAIAH 7:14 14 Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. MATTHEW 1:22-23 22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). I am not a patient person. I think perhaps this is because I am a worrier. …

’Tis the season for all things Christmas. And yet, there’s so much more to winter. We have the Winter Solstice and Hanukkah and St. Lucia Day and Kwanzaa and Diwali and Las Posadas and the Lunar New Year. There is so much more to celebrate. Kids are continually charmed, as are we, by days demarcated as special and observed with ceremony. Mystery and wonder and culture fill these non-Christmas holidays. These seven children’s books will …

Let it be noted that my love language is not gift-giving. If you are the gift-giver extraordinaire and/or like nothing more than to receive the perfect something, then this tradition might not be for you. But it saved our Christmas and our bank account and for us, it’s the gift that really keeps on giving. For years we operated under the standard gift-giving and gift-receiving protocol. I paid much less attention to this before I …

LUKE 2:4-7 4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and …

I just checked my texts. In order of importance and most use, here are the emoji favorites: Laughing face Red heart Peanuts Two-tear crying face Okay sign Winking face Fall leaves Flexed Arm Kiss face Cake slice High-heeled shoe Surprised Face Why the peanuts? Is it because I say “That’s nuts!” so often and my smarter-than-me phone autocorrects? Or is it because I just made chocolate peanut butter cake and told the world about it? …