When Zechariah confronted a mystery that didn't fit into the tight and tidy quarters of his faith, he become overwhelmed with fear.  Mary’s more flexible faith allowed her to sit with the mystery and to ponder it rather than run away from it.

We cannot begin Advent with angels and wise men and choirs. We cannot start where the tinsel and glitter is. We have to begin small, quiet, and unnoticed. We have to begin the way the story grew in Mary. The way it still grows in us.

Set prayers and liturgy can feel stiff and impersonal if they are not part of our tradition but they may hold unexpected riches.

A new life iwth an old mindset isn't freedom-it's a more comfortable prison.

Jesus stirs the troubled waters of our lives with a question that heals more deeply than any answer ever could.

 When we are stressed, being told "don't worry!" can feel at best insensitive. But what if we see it as an invitation rather than a critique?

It’s strange how God meets us in the moments we often think are proof of His absence.

If what mattered to God mattered to us, we might just realize what matters.

The stories that we water, and the moments that we nurture are the ones that grow and shape the garden of our lives.

The world around us is eager to tell us what to value but Jesus has a different agenda for us.