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Good Days...Bad Days With Maureen Pratt

  Advent Day 21:  Does your timing seem off? One of the most difficult things about the holiday season is wanting to do it all, but not having enough time to do it in. This is particularly appropriate for those of us with chronic pain and illness. One bad day during Advent, and the whole…

Advent Day 20: Are your plans falling apart? Does this seem familiar?  Just as we’re getting down to the last weekend before Christmas, plans are unravelling. A flight is cancelled and you have to spend the night on the floor in an airport. Someone in the house is ill, and then someone else and someone…

Advent Day 19: What do you really want? As the days move swiftly to Christmas, we might get caught up in the undeniably enticing world of gift-giving and gift-getting. Whether at a gift swap at church or between two family members or friends, giving and receiving has become integral to this time of year. Someone…

  Advent Day 18:  What’s stirring within? You’ve been working so hard for almost three weeks. Preparations for Christmas. Perhaps, travel. Visits with family and friends. Work. School. Health. And Advent. Many of your activities have been external, and you’ve been looking ahead to each event, each occasion and, especially, to Christmas. But, also, during…

  Advent Day 17:  Afraid of Getting Sick for the Holidays? I’ve heard that the flu season has arrived early this year, and with is comes the “stop-you-in-your-tracks” possibility of being ill during this festive season. If you do not have a chronic health condition, the thought of becoming sick now is possibly not a primary…

Advent Day 16: A week away, a world away? If Christmas Eve is only one week away, why does it seem like a world away? We’re in the thick of the Advent season, now. Perhaps it is increasingly difficult to take that little, extra time to pray and prepare. Perhaps our quiet time is being…

Advent Day 15: Have you noticed? Today in church, we hear the Psalm Isaiah 12:2-3, 4, 5-6. I’m particularly struck by the refrain: Cry out with joy and gladness: for among you is the great and Holy One of Israel. These past few days, I’ve spent a lot of time in elevators. At stores, at…

Advent Day 14: Shooting at a school in Connecticut: How do we respond? The horror of Friday’s shooting in a Connecticut school will be fresh in our minds for days and months to come. My heart breaks for the families who lost children, loved ones, and for the police, firefighters, and others who have come…

Advent Day 13: What do you love most about these days? The colors, smells, sounds, and sights of the Christmas season are varied and awesome. Each of us has at least one favorite thing, whether it is a treasured ornament, a beloved song, or a much-prepared recipe. These and other seasonal specialties often give us…

Advent Day 12:  Feeling a chill? The holiday season can bring out the best in people – and the worst. Whether on purpose or by accident, sometimes loved ones say the wrong thing at the wrong time, and a chill descends upon the relationship. Perhaps you are always the one who reaches out, extends the…
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