Marilyngardner5

LATEST ARTICLES ( 1127 )

• Sharing Christmas – A Guest Post

  

  I love the essay I’m sharing today from Cindy Brandt. You’ll remember Cindy from her post a couple weeks ago The Gift of Longing to Belong. Read more

  Posted on 19 December 2013 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Candle Time

  

  December is the time of year where morning comes slowly and evening quickly.I feel melancholy as I wake up far before the sun rises over the Atlantic ocean, jus... Read more

  Posted on 18 December 2013 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Fractions of Understanding – a Repost

  

  These days my waking and sleeping moments are filled with questions and thoughts on the Incarnation. A week ago I ended a post with these words:“That this... Read more

  Posted on 17 December 2013 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• When Fear is Your Currency [aka 'Is It Safe?']

  

  “But is it safe?”My friend stopped drinking her Skinny Vanilla Latte ala Starbucks. She was truly concerned. It was back in late August and I had just told her... Read more

  Posted on 16 December 2013 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Mary, the Mother of Christmas

  

  Readers- before Robynn left for India she wrote a few posts for Fridays with Robynn. Enjoy this one on Mary, the Mother of Christmas. Read more

  Posted on 13 December 2013 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• “I Was a Stranger”

  

  What is our first reaction, our spontaneous response, when we meet the stranger? “Who let’s these people in here anyway?” asked the man. He was agitated and... Read more

  Posted on 12 December 2013 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• To Believe in the Beyond

  

  To believe in the redemptive love of God through Jesus is to believe in a reordering of life, to believe that things are not as they seem. It is to believe in... Read more

  Posted on 10 December 2013 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• TCK Identity and Spelling Confusion

  

  It’s that Third Culture Kid identity thing again. If our souls don’t show the confusion we feel, our spelling certainly does.Is it color or colour? Honor or... Read more

  Posted on 09 December 2013 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Repost – No One Wants to Eat Baby Jesus!

  

  I’m traveling and so decided to repost this Christmas post that I wrote a year ago. To those of you for whom it is a repeat, thanks for bearing with me. Read more

  Posted on 08 December 2013 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Waiting

  

  Barren, brown ground and leafless trees are my landscape as I stare absently through the bus window. I’m on my way to visit my parents, taking a Greyhound bus... Read more

  Posted on 06 December 2013 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• This Advent Season, A Look at the Real Setting

  

  I’ve read many lovely Christmas pieces – how alone Mary and Joseph were during their night-time trip to Bethlehem, her heavy with child and all; how there was n... Read more

  Posted on 05 December 2013 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• “Everything Has a Story”

  

  Narrative – a spoken or written account of connected events; a story. My husband took this picture on a recent trip to Portland, Oregon. Read more

  Posted on 04 December 2013 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• On #GivingTuesday – Will I Follow a Star Or a Mannequin?

  

  I belong to the early morning crowd. The group that gets up at 5 and is fully functioning by 6:45. The group that is still mostly groggy while on public transit. Read more

  Posted on 03 December 2013 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• It’s Getting Cold

  

  . I walk to work in the morning with my body bundled into a warm coat, my feet in boots, my head down to keep the wind from biting too fiercely. Read more

  Posted on 02 December 2013 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• The Reluctant Orthodox – Volume 11 “On Evangelical Roots”

  

  I have strong and comforting Evangelical roots. They go deep into the soil of my heart. The seed was sown early by Baptist missionary parents and nourished... Read more

  Posted on 01 December 2013 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• A Blessing For Those Who Journey

  

  Last week I got a sweet facebook message from an old friend. This friend, Jen, used to work with us in India. She knows the life we lived. She’s lived it. She... Read more

  Posted on 29 November 2013 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• How a Cynic Met a Gratitude Journal – Thanksgiving 2013

  

  It’s 39 pages and counting. It’s sometimes written in black ink, sometimes blue; there’s an occasional pencil entry and red ink dots a few of the pages. Read more

  Posted on 28 November 2013 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• Ten Thing You Can Do on Friday (Instead of Going Shopping)

  

  For those who live in the United States, it’s that time of the year again — that time where one day we gather, thankful for all that has been given us, basking... Read more

  Posted on 27 November 2013 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• A Guest Post – The Gift of Longing to Belong

  

  I’m delighted to introduce you to Cindy Brandt today. Cindy is a TCK raising TCK’s and we connected through A Life Overseas. Her post today makes me celebrate... Read more

  Posted on 26 November 2013 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION

• All Because the Sun in Not Shining in Germany

  

  My friend Sabine recently commented on Facebook about the sun in Germany. Evidently it hasn’t been shining much lately.In an instant I was transported back to... Read more

  Posted on 25 November 2013 RELIGION, SELF EXPRESSION