Monthly Archives: December 2023

How is 2024?

Posted on December 31, 2023 by mitchteemley

Dear friends in Asia, it’s still 2023 where I live, but I can’t wait any longer to find out: How is 2024?! P.S. Happy New Year! ΞΆ

Posted in Humor, Quips and Quotes | Tagged , , , , , , , | 64 Comments

“Get Real.” Sincerely, God

Posted on December 31, 2023 by mitchteemley
Posted in For Pastors and Teachers, Quips and Quotes, Religion/Faith | Tagged , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Try to Remember

Posted on December 30, 2023 by mitchteemley

This season is the hardest for many. Try to remember that you are not alone in your pain–ever–and that suffering is never without a purpose. But if it seems to be, then assign it a purpose, and chances are you’ll … Continue reading →

Posted in The Wishing Map | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 39 Comments

Perfectly-Timed Pictures

Posted on December 29, 2023 by mitchteemley

As we prepare for the year ahead, it’s good to remember that Things Don’t Always Go the Way We Planned. Sometimes the results are disastrous (2020 anyone?), sometimes they’re better than we expected, and sometimes they’re simply reminders that–as these … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 44 Comments

Five Years Ago Today

Posted on December 28, 2023 by mitchteemley

On this date, in 2018, I posted that Β someone had stolen a credit card out of our mail box, activated it, and bought themselves a top-of-the-line computer! Um, Merry Christmas? (Yes, we disputed the charge.) The very next day we … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Memoir | Tagged , , , , , , , | 64 Comments

Now Back to Work!

Posted on December 27, 2023 by mitchteemley

Face it, with the holiday weekend past and the end of the year not yet here, we have no choice but to pretend we’re working. β€œI love deadlines. I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by.” ~Douglas … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Quips and Quotes | Tagged , , , , , , , | 29 Comments

Embracing the Miracle

Posted on December 26, 2023 by mitchteemley

Painting by Gari Melchers (1860 – 1932) Thought for the Week I struggle with my faith. Cyclically. Some proxigean tide will send a wave of doubt crashing over me, producing the impression of drowning. I’ll flail and gasp, sometimes for … Continue reading →

Posted in For Pastors and Teachers, Religion/Faith | Tagged , , , , , , , | 37 Comments

The Spirit of Christmas

Posted on December 25, 2023 by mitchteemley

May the spirit of Christmas the yearning to give inhabitΒ your heart for as long as you live

Posted in For Pastors and Teachers | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 54 Comments

The Person in the Title

Posted on December 24, 2023 by mitchteemley

I love Christmas. And with all my heart I love the One whose birth it celebrates. But it wasn’t always so. I grew up in a nonbelieving home. Yes, we called it “Christmas,” but for us it was a secular … Continue reading →

Posted in For Pastors and Teachers, Quips and Quotes, Religion/Faith | Tagged , , , , , , | 61 Comments

“While Shepherds Watched Their (Kids) by Night…”

Posted on December 23, 2023 by mitchteemley

Some years back, I wrote a four-sceneΒ Modern Day Christmas ExperienceΒ that’s performed by churches and drama groups every year. Here’s a brief version of one of these, The Shepherds. Merry Christmas! The moment Dan and Trish Shepherd dragged their kids into … Continue reading →

Posted in For Pastors and Teachers, Religion/Faith | Tagged , , , , , , , | 24 Comments