First Presbyterian Church of Valparaiso

By the time you read this Advent will have passed, yet I enjoyed the theme of Generation to Generation, and the advent devotional book that was made available to us. I quote from the introduction, “From Generation to Generation” reminds us of the ways our lives, histories, actions, and stories are interconnected and woven together. The work of God is always unfolding in and through us. …remember that you belong - - to a story etched into the wrinkles of time - - to generation

Do you remember when you stopped believing in Santa Claus? When I was growing up, Santa didn’t wrap our Christmas presents. We’d get up (at the crack of dawn, of course) and run into the front room to find the small stack of toys that had magically appeared as we slept. The excitement! The flood of pure joy! And—if I’m being honest—the relief that yes, he really had come once again! But somewhere around twelve years old, I began to have doubts. I had two younger sisters and a

As we enjoy our Christmas holiday, doing our best to remember that it is about the birth of Christ, our Messiah, and not the commercialized event that it has increasingly become, we can see on the immediate horizon the approach of yet another New Year… 2023 is almost upon us. Some people take the tradition and/or practice of making a New Year’s Resolution seriously and put a lot of thought into their resolution(s) before making it/them. There are always the standard fallback

Shortly after Thanksgiving, I stopped to pick up a few things at Target. I was looking for a book which meant I had to pass the toy section. The shelves were filled with action figures, Legos, board games, baby dolls and fashion dolls, radio-controlled cars…and parents were grabbing this year’s most desired toys to take home and wrap. Our family has always loved the line from A Christmas Story when the narrator says that Ralphie and his little brother come down on Christmas m

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. -Hebrews 13:8 Bellies full. Dishes cleared. Parades ended. One season ends, another begins. And so, I began trudging up and down the ladder into the attic to retrieve the Christmas decorations. Years ago, my Christmas tradition included a trip to cut down a fresh tree, but times change. Box opened. Base constructed. Branches fluffed. The rhythm of preparing the tree for another season begins. With great anticipation, I