Author Archives: joyocala

While visiting our daughter and son-in-law over Thanksgiving, she shared a story of what she considered to be “a God thing” which gave her a much-needed wake-up call. Our son-in-law has shared with us on many occasions that our daughter … Continue reading →

Last night’s gospel was taken from 2 Peter 3 which gives us helpful information for prayer time. Huh? I know that the writing principally assures us that the Lord IS coming back, but it also offers an explanation for God’s … Continue reading →

So a German who used the name Laurentius Laurenti, born in a territory under Danish rule, writes a hymn that gets translated into English by Sarah Borthwick Findlater, a Scott, which gets picked up by Swedish Lutherans in the U.S. … Continue reading →

Recently my grandson Gabriel moved to Las Vegas. He had planned this move for about two years, and when the opportunity arose, he jumped. He drove 1,125 miles from Seattle to Las Vegas, through mountains he’d never seen before, a … Continue reading →

My, my – how I delight in words! A “play on words,” the title of this blog that popped into mind. I think we all get how the English language can be downright tricky most of the time. CLOSER “Look … Continue reading →

There’s a song by Jerry Heman that goes “For We Need a Little Christmas right this very minute.”  Some of us remember Johnny Mathis singing that back in 1986.  Well, I’d like to suggest that right now, “We need a … Continue reading →

Note: King David is credited with writing Psalm 145. The Old Testament was written in Hebrew. This psalm by David was written in acrostic form.  This means his poetry was written with each phrase beginning with the sequential letters of the … Continue reading →

Have you ever thought about why we do the things we do in preparing for Christmas? Isometimes do. I know where some of the traditions came from but not necessarily whythey were started in the first place. Some research suggested … Continue reading →

While we wait for the Christmas celebration with all the fun and festivities, Advent provides us with a time of reflection and renewal. It is a good time to examine what Jesus did wtih His human life.   What can succinctly … Continue reading →

She told me she hated Advent. Every year when Christmas came around, the Lutherans were singing those awful Advent hymns instead of Christmas songs. I know it was naughty of me, but I ignored her complaint. I loved hearing the … Continue reading →