Our five-year-old grandson Collin Thomas, told his mother that his father didn't say prayers with him the previous night after he read a story to him. His mother usually reads to him at bedtime. She asked him how he had noticed this. “Has Yia Yia been praying with you when you spend the night with her?” He said, “No, it wasn't there.” Sometimes … [Read more...]
Isha’s Voice is in English!
Isha heard melodies everywhere she went and loved to sing. Her daddy loved to listen. What happens when Isha loses her voice? How will her father be able to bring singing and joy back into their lives? What path will the journey take? Isha's Voice is a story about loss and reunion between a father and daughter and most importantly, how our … [Read more...]
Facing Christ is Diagnostic
God saves His people through offering us His own life through encounters with one another. His dynamism is brought to perfection through our weakness in spite of our sins and imperfection. This past week several people shared with me words that had been spoken to them which were so important that they have never forgotten them. I am grateful and in … [Read more...]
Intentional Mary Moments
It is well known in the emerging field of epigenetics that conditions of stress, abuse, neglect and trauma in a person''s family of origin can seriously affect our physical and mental health as adults. But it also plays a significant role in our religious life. I have known more than one person who has sought refuge in the Orthodox faith only … [Read more...]
Η φωνή της Εύας [Eva’s Voice]
Have you ever felt so self-conscious or uncomfortable that you lost your voice? How did you find it again? Or been under so much pressure to perform that you froze up? Isha's Voice [Eva's Voice in the Greek Edition] is the story of a girl who experiences herself in the Great Liturgy of life without the slightest self-consciousness, vanity or … [Read more...]
For the Love of Tuna!
We tempted and led a raccoon into captivity briefly, relocating it this afternoon to a faraway country. The face of this shy little creature sitting in the cage, kept returning to me during the Divine Liturgy, along with the echoing refrain, “for the love of tuna.” Several varieties of grapes grow in our yard. Scuppernongs cover the fence along … [Read more...]
The Value of Dissatisfaction With Oneself
In the country of the Gergesenes,[1] a land outside Israel populated mostly by Gentiles, Jesus was confronted by two men described as being “so violent no one could pass by that way” [Mt. 8:28]. Matthew, Mark and Luke, each include unique details that enrich the meaning of this encounter. Mark relates that the possessed man had been bound by … [Read more...]
Matthew Sings a New Song
Our not yet two-and-half-year-old grandson Matthew spent the afternoon with us. Like a master conductor, he directed the two-piece orchestra of Yiayia and Papou. To the playground! But first, he wanted to feed the ducks. As we walked to the playground he advised Papou to be sure not to step in the puddles. The slide was the first attraction. He … [Read more...]
The First Christian
Small details often convey great meaning. Take for example in the Gospel of John where we are told that Peter and John ran to the tomb in the early hours of the morning and the disciple Jesus loved outran Peter and arrived at the tomb first. What does this mean? The Gospel of John is full of language that we quickly learn is not to be taken … [Read more...]
The Myrrh Bearing of the Holy Theotokos
[1] Not many stories are recounted in all four of the Gospels. Jesus having his feet anointed with a pound of the myrrh of pure nard [2] is one of those stories. [3] Here myrrh refers to a medicinal aromatic essential oil called spikenard or muskroot which is derived from a flowering plant of the valerian family that grows in the Himalayas of … [Read more...]
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