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Lessons in Gratitude for a New Year ’Tis the season—of lists and lights, endings and beginnings. A season when the calendar tells us one thing is ending and another is about to begin, even if our hearts are still catching up. Gratitude often shows up this time of year as something we are supposed to feel. We are encouraged to name blessings, count joys, and move quickly toward...

For the next several weeks, we welcome guest writers from the Chrysalis Board of Directors as they share their thoughts and perspectives from the Gospel writers during this Season of Advent. Enjoy! There is a moment in every life of faith when circumstances cause words to rise from deep within the soul — not in the form of doctrine or duty, but from the heart as a song. For Mary, like many...

For the next several weeks, we welcome guest writers from the Chrysalis Board of Directors as they share their thoughts and perspectives from the Gospel writers during this Season of Advent. Enjoy! Patience is not my spiritual gift. Patiently waiting is my least favorite oxymoron. The absurdity of ‘patiently’ waiting is not lost on my heart. Waiting for the baby to be born. Waiting for...

I love the season of Advent in the church. The sanctuary draped in deep purple (or blue) paraments. Fresh greenery threaded across the altar and windowsills—cedar, pine, maybe a sprig of holly tucked where only the children notice. The smell of warm bread drifting from the kitchen, rising and filling the hallways with the promise of communion. The Advent wreath glowing with just...

The Season of Advent marks the beginning of the Christian year—a four-week journey that leads us to Christmas. The word Advent comes from the Latin adventus, meaning coming or arrival. It is a season that holds two truths at once – We remember Christ’s first coming into the world and we anticipate Christ’s continued coming into our lives. Advent invites us into a sacred kind of...

As we enter the season of Thanksgiving, many of us feel a familiar mixture of anticipation and saturation. This time of year, brings a flurry of gatherings, travel, planning, emotions, and expectations. It can be a life giving season —and it can be a complete drain on the spirit. Somewhere between preparing the meal, navigating family dynamics, and keeping up with work and life, we can lose...

There comes a moment—sometimes quietly, sometimes all at once—when we realize we’ve reached our saturation point. It’s that internal threshold where the weight we’ve been carrying begins to spill over the edges of our capacity. We feel it in our bodies before we can often name it – exhaustion that doesn’t lift after sleep, irritability over minor things, an ache behind the eyes, or the...

As humans, we are wired to be meaning-making creatures. When we encounter something we don’t understand—a silence, a delay, an unanswered text, an ambiguous look—we instinctively fill in the gaps. Our minds rush to complete the story, to make sense of what’s missing. It’s a survival mechanism, meant to keep us safe. The problem is, most of the time, the story we create simply isn’t true....

I have a handful of bucket list items that I slowly plan and experience as the years move forward. One anticipated experience that has reminded constant and at the top of my list, is a trip to Mexico City for the annual Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) celebration. I want to be in the city among the marigolds and candles, to celebrate and remember, to build a collective ofrenda (alter),...

In the changing of the seasons from summer to fall and from fall to winter, I am intimately reminded of the seasons and changes we experience in life. This includes the change and loss of relationships, often ushering us into a season which we call grief. And what is grief, really? Grief is often described as a storm, a wave, a shadow that lingers long after loss. Yet, beneath every...