The time of Advent has drawn to a close, the “waiting” for the “coming” has ended and we celebrate Christ’s birth! You know the Christmas Story: Angels appear… Conceive a child of the Holy Spirit? Immanuel: God with us! Elizabeth, also with miraculous child, worships. Joseph,  faithful to God, cares for Mary. Census called, the … Continue reading Wednesdays with Jillene: treasure in your heart

We all know how to avoid transmitting a cold virus: covering our coughs and sneezes, proper hand washing, and sanitizing surfaces. But what about contagious moods? Are you prepared to avoid catching a bad mood? Ever notice how contagious a mood can be? I spend a lot of my time with little people. (There are … Continue reading Wednesdays with Jillene: Oh for joy

"Are we there yet?!" “When are we going to get there?” Maybe those familiar words have rung in your ears on (many) a car trip. Perhaps you spoke them 😉 Sometimes it seems like we are NEVER going to get there… never going to make it to a destination… never going to accomplish a to-do … Continue reading Wednesdays with Jillene: the journey to Christmas

  So there was this time that I had to be okay, I guess I didn’t have to, but I resolved to… resolved to be okay even though I could have had my phone stolen or my purse. I was with some friends visiting a suburb of Pittsburgh for a David Crowder concert. We were … Continue reading Wednesdays with Jillene:

Take a look at this tree: Notice anything? Maybe not from a distance… but what about as we get closer? Can you see it? This tree is scarred… damaged… And as we look around closer we can see why: A cable attached around this tree trunk YEARS ago has now bitten into the bark, marred … Continue reading Wednesdays with Jillene: scars

“Children are our future” It is phrase often said and a sentiment repeatedly expressed. But, as Christians, I want to challenge that thinking. If we want our children to be our (as the church) future, they need to be our present (as the church). While it is true that throughout the years to come, those … Continue reading Wednesdays with Jillene: our future and our present

As I walked with a friend of mine alongside a river where the hills rose high and the water ran calm I was awestruck with the beauty. The beauty of nature and of healing conversation. There were times when I would stop (mid-step), caught in awestruck gaze of the scenery. Be it the contrast of … Continue reading Wednesdays with Jillene: bridges

So there is it… a picture my archenemy this morning. Yup folks, I was almost defeated by the pump dispenser on a face wash container. That brand new face wash dispenser that I COULD NOT OPEN. As you can probably see, it comes with instructions. <-- Open   And I followed those instructions. I turned … Continue reading Wednesdays with Jillene: following instructions

Writing a blog is strange thing. Often I am writing to an “audience” that I cannot know fully… or to people I am not even sure will ever read these words… I can track statistics on how many people read the blog, what posts they read, how they were referred to the blog (through Facebook, … Continue reading Wednesdays with Jillene: God’s Word Does Not Return Empty

Yup- you read the title to this post correctly, it does say “Wednesdays with Jillene”… I am sure you are able to see that I am, in fact, not posting this on a Wednesday but a Thursday. I debated not posting it at all, but then I would be further giving in. Giving in to … Continue reading Wednesdays with Jillene: routine (or lack thereof)