by Erika VanHaitsma | Dec 23, 2020 | Christmas
One of the many truths this past year has taught us is the importance of human connection, real community, and being physically present with others. Zoom, Skype, social media have all been blessings to keep a small part of relationships going, but we have learned that...
by Erika VanHaitsma | Dec 12, 2019 | Christmas, Jewish Jesus
Jesus, son of Joseph of the House of David. Recently I learned how amazing that line is. Beginning The PromiseTo understand why we need to start with Abraham. God made a Covenant with Abraham that included numerous promises, including, the reader comes to realize, the...
by Erika VanHaitsma | Dec 23, 2018 | Christmas
Would it ruin Christmas for you if I told you it probably didn’t happen the way we normally picture it? First, I need to admit that I love Nativities. I have several nativity scenes in my own home. However, I don’t think they’re very accurate. The reality of the first...
by Erika VanHaitsma | Dec 8, 2018 | Christmas, Sunday Morning Thoughts
There’s a famous hymn that was written during the Civil War called “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”. The older kids and I studied the Civil war at the beginning of the school year and it was heartbreaking. Every family knew someone who died. Many...
by Erika VanHaitsma | Dec 22, 2016 | Christmas
There’s a lot of terrible things happening in the world all the time and this Christmas season is no exception. Whether in America or overseas, people are struggling, people are hurting, people are dying. And people are desperately in need of a reminder that...
by Erika VanHaitsma | Dec 15, 2016 | Christmas, Jewish Jesus
The more you delve into the Christmas story the more shocking it becomes. Bryan has been studying Matthew 1 recently so we’ve been talking about the first Christmas, and I’m always amazed at how different it would have been for them then we usually...
