**Post originally appeared on the Christ City Church blog in 2015 as “When Devotions Aren’t Pretty.”** Sitting on the porch under a soft, golden-hued sunrise, a woolen blanket draped around my shoulders, a steaming drink in hand and an open Bible in the other – this is what I’ve always dreamed of. Like a childhood word-association game, this […]
I’m lopsided. And not just “a little.” This isn’t the first time it’s happened either. It seems to be that when the milk comes in my babies immediately turn up their tiny noses and deem one side to be of “sub-par quality.” The quintessential picky-eaters from birth. When my daughter was born, she struggled to […]
Ever since I was young, I’ve loved a good mystery. I still remember the feel of a new Nancy Drew book in my hand: soft and smooth with unbound excitement lying in wait. There was nothing like the familiar creak of those yellow-spined stories as I’d bury my nose into their fresh pages. Mystery. Suspense. Thrillers. These […]
As we welcome the new year, it’s the perfect time to take a few moments to look back at our accomplishments over the past twelve months. What did we do? What did we see? And most importantly for us book-addicts, what did we read? I, for one, set two goals for myself at the beginning […]
Lights twinkle off branches and along pathways, glittering and shimmering against the darkened night sky. There is so much beauty contained in these mini-capsules of lights. Thousands of coloured strands line the garden, each one capturing a bit of the magic of Christmas. This was my first time visiting Van Dusen Garden (for a Vancouver-born […]
As we draw near the end of our Advent season this year, I am so grateful for these daily reminders of God’s love, faithfulness and salvation plan. The entirety of scripture echoes His redemptive plan — a plan that includes a child born to a virgin and laid to rest in a scratchy, old feeding […]
Merry Christmas! 2018 was a year of great joy in the Mannegren household as we welcomed the arrival of a baby girl, Adelaide Jean. In addition to the abundance of diapers and baby onesies filling the latter half of our year, these past twelve months have also been marked by a four-year-old’s shark birthday party, […]
Doesn’t this title just say it all? As a bookworm… (or should I say, book addict?)… even the cover of this book just gives me a little thrill of delight. Books, books, books, everywhere! **Happy sigh to find someone who just SO gets me.** From the author of the popular blog, Modern Mrs Darcy, this book is […]
“We only have a few days left, mama!” My son’s excitement rings out as he flips through his Bible each morning, checking to see how many days remain until Christmas morning. It’s part of our December Advent activity, working our way through the Jesus Storybook Bible. Each day we read a story from the Old […]
O Come, O Come Emmanuel. And ransom captive Israel. That mourns in lonely exile here Until the Son of God appear This is one of my favourite Christmas songs. In a season strewn with jingly tunes about reindeer and jolly, bearded men these five words, “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” cut straight to the heart. […]
With the arrival of a new little one, my reading has dramatically decreased over the past few months. It’s also been increasingly difficult to read anything that requires a lot of brain power. That’s why this trio of “romantic suspense novellas” was a perfect read for this sleep-deprived mama. Short and light, this book was […]
I remember, as a child, staring up at the big Christmas tree in my elementary school lobby. It was decorated with paper ornaments; each of them carefully (or not so carefully) crafted by sticky-fingered, glitter-covered students. It was a Jesse tree. A reminder of the generations who waited on the arrival of a Messiah. As […]