Marilyngardner5

LATEST ARTICLES ( 1127 )

• Eve of Nativity & Insurrectionists

  

  Coptic church - Evidence of Egypt's large Coptic Christian population Today is the eve of the celebration of nativity for many in the East. While the West... Read more

  Posted on 06 January 2021 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Masked Mourners & Bagpipes

  

  Across the street from our house stands an old Catholic church, its magestic steeple reaching far into the sky. From eight o'clock in the morning until ten... Read more

  Posted on 03 January 2021 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• On Duty & Dreaming

  

  A couple of years ago my oldest daughter texted me with words that were deeply affirming, if a bit humorous. The text said "I am so glad that you were a mother... Read more

  Posted on 31 December 2020 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• On Blackwater Massacres and Christmas Eve

  

  I rarely get political on this blog. While the theme of communicating across the boundaries of faith and culture doesn't exclude politics, it would limit me... Read more

  Posted on 24 December 2020 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• And So We Wait – A Brighter Light

  

  Week 4 - Advent Tomorrow, December 21st, marks the longest night of the year. While living in Kurdistan we found out that Kurds and Iranians honor the longest... Read more

  Posted on 20 December 2020 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• A Boy and a Bunny

  

  When my brother Stan was in high school, he rescued one of our baby bunnies who had been rejected by its mother. The bunny was so young that it had not yet grow... Read more

  Posted on 14 December 2020 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• And So We Wait – Hospital Waiting Rooms

  

  I've spent a fair amount of time in hospital and clinic waiting rooms. Sometimes I'm there as a nurse accompanying a patient or a friend, sometimes I'm there... Read more

  Posted on 13 December 2020 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• And So We Wait – Sacred Spaces

  

  Let the gnawing ache ring and discover that we are scanning the horizon for the Messiah Laura Merzig Fabrycky I heard the rain falling during the night and wok... Read more

  Posted on 06 December 2020 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• And So We Wait…

  

  Today, those of us who are Christians enter into a season of waiting - the season of Advent. Advent comes at the end of November and into the dimming light of... Read more

  Posted on 29 November 2020 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• On Choosing Good

  

  Every morning I get a news brief from the Council of Foreign Relations. The news brief is a short summary of what's going on in the world. I strategically read... Read more

  Posted on 20 November 2020 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Where Does Your Soul Hurt?

  

  November in the Northeast of the United States colors gray. Though there are some bright days of sun and leftover reds and golds from a brilliant October,... Read more

  Posted on 15 November 2020 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Prayer for a Sunday Afternoon

  

  It is on Sunday afternoons when my longing feels the strongest, when I feel exiled from all around me, when my heart cries out for its eternal home. It is on... Read more

  Posted on 01 November 2020 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• On Missing My Kids

  

  There are days as a mom of adult kids where you miss your children so much that you physically ache. You feel it in your bones. It's not the sharp pain of an... Read more

  Posted on 23 October 2020 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• The Return

  

  It was 10 years ago today that my sister-in-law and I arrived in Pakistan to participate in a 2-week medical relief trip. At the end of the summer of 2010,... Read more

  Posted on 16 October 2020 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• For the Global Souls

  

  You are the bridge builders and the listeners, the ones who understand what it is to live between. You are the border crossers and the visa holders, the ones... Read more

  Posted on 12 October 2020 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• What I Learned in Autumn

  

  I will always love the Autumn with its colors and textures, it's warm days and cold nights. As I think back on Autumn, I realize that along with the reds and... Read more

  Posted on 08 October 2020 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Finding My Way on the Freedom Trail

  

  This morning I met with a dear friend at a coffee shop along the wharf in Boston. Blue sky and warm temperatures had us both exclaiming with delight as we sat... Read more

  Posted on 01 October 2020 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• “How Do We Say That God is Good When Life is Not?”

  

  How do we say that God is good when life is not? I read the words and my eyes brim with tears. I'm sitting by the window and bright sun radiating off fresh sno... Read more

  Posted on 26 September 2020 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Lonely Tears and Sunflower Hope

  

  I wake up lonely. This does not happen often, but when it does I know tears are just below the surface and I feel the heavy weight of distance between me and th... Read more

  Posted on 17 September 2020 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• The Work of Waiting

  

  To my dear ones who are waiting... "Let waiting be our work, as it is His. And, if His waiting is nothing but goodness and graciousness, let ours be nothing bu... Read more

  Posted on 29 August 2020 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION