Recently, while reflecting on the Christmas carol, “Away in a manger,” I did a rant in my head about the line – “little Lord Jesus no crying he makes.” My thoughts went like this, “Of course he cried, he was a human baby, human babies cry. Cry to be held, [...]
Translation is an act of hope. We believe that a story can leap between contexts and cultures and from one language into another. To translate is to trust that truth will travel with you. Let’s begin this Advent journey with translation. And let’s take Jean de Brébeuf as our guide. [...]
Today, I stood in the rainy school playground with a Bangladeshi mum. Like me, she stands there everyday, waiting with a small boy for her older two children to emerge. In between toddler chasing, we chat. About grocery shopping. About the weather. About school breaks and growing kids. I told [...]
Last week, I wrote about waiting. We all find it hard, being used to getting what we want when we want it. But waiting, along with being a reality of life (and of Advent!), is a spiritual discipline. Among the fruit of the Spirit, according to the apostle Paul in [...]
I’ve been thinking about my Granny this week. It was her birthday a couple of days ago and I told my kids so they kept breaking into loud Happy Birthday, which felt a little strange to me. They know about her through stories and photographs but they didn’t know her. [...]
Advent is a season of waiting. And we live in a time when we’re not really used to waiting, so it can be very hard for us. I don’t know if your childhood experience was like mine, but when I was a kid, seeing all the presents under the tree, [...]
Advent should be like a funnel that focuses us invon the most important part of Christmas; renewingvour relationship with our Lord and Saviour. However, Advent competes with so much that demands our attention.
The first candle has been lit and Advent begins. On Sunday night, we set our own advent ring on the table at home and the big kids helped our little Plum count the spaces until Christmas. Three more candles, six more cards to decorate. It will be a month [...]
I propose a simple advent. For each week, I will offer one song and one image here on the Messy Table. May these be useful to you in this season of waiting. The Song: Jeremiah 33 Jeremiah sings as Nebuchadnezzar’s armies approach. The people of Jerusalem are used to his songs. [...]
Beangirl came home from school today, talking about the moment of silence they held for the people of Paris. Blue said he knew something terrible had happened, but he didn’t know what. Plum and I have been listening to French internet radio, and the playlists were filled with sad [...]
