Inspiration Faith & Prayer Health & Wellness Entertainment Love & Family
Newsletters Special Offers

Prayer, Plain and Simple

I live in a household of gifted musicians. My wife Jill, my daughters Emily and Ellie, sons Matt and Michael… Everyone, save yours truly has a nature “swing” woven deep in their bones. For them making music, and for me listening to it, has become inseparable from breathing and eating… and yes praying. Music works…

By Claudia Mair Burney Tuesday, the third week of Advent “A star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel.” Numbers 24:17 (2). “On entering the house they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered…

Every morning and every evening I wash my mouth out with soap. I use Colgate, not nasty lye, but the objective is the same: Bacteria build up on my teeth and gums and by scrubbing them clean, I help maintain a healthy mouth. Flossing and brushing are part of my necessary routine. The Bible tells…

By Claudia Mair Burney Monday, the third week of Advent “The Lord, your God, is in your midst, a mighty savior; He will rejoice over you with gladness, and renew you in his love, He will sing joyfully because of you, as one sings at festivals.” Zephaniah 3:17-18   This is a season full of…

By Claudia Mair Burney The third Sunday of Advent “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.” Philippians 4:4 (NRSV)   This Sunday is called “Gaudete” Sunday, which means “rejoice” in Latin. Traditionally, we light the rose colored candle on our Advent…

By Claudia Mair Burney Saturday, the second week of Advent “A certain ruler asked him, ‘Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. You know the commandments: You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You…

Again, I won’t need to work out in the gym today: I’ll be shoveling snow.  On Tuesday and Wednesday St. Paul got hit with a load of snow from the first winter storm of the season. Once the storm tapered off I dug out the shovel and fired up the snow blower and cleared off…

By Claudia Mair Burney Friday, the second week of Advent “Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews. He came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do…

A picture may say a thousand words; a picture may also prompt a thousand words. This morning I’m looking through a series of photos of my father who died 18 months ago. We were on a fishing trip in Canada with my boys and some friends. It was an amazingly rich time, and these pictures…

By Claudia Mair Burney Thursday, the second week of Advent “On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there. Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no…
archives most recent
search this blog
More from Beliefnet and our partners