Wanting to pray effectively is not a new concept. Prayer has been around as long as, well as long as God. Abraham prayed, Moses prayed, David prayed, and those are just some of the big names. None of them were perfect, they were all flawed in some way, but they prayed, because they knew there was a higher power they could turn to. Even Jesus’ disciples, who heard him pray often, asked Him to teach them to pray. Like they were asking for a secret formula or magic words.   But the truth is, there is no “trick” to praying. It is just a talk withRead More →

One of the many favorite advent decorations in our church is the Chrismon Tree. That’s right — it is a Chrismon Tree, not a Christmas Tree. What is the difference you might ask? I recently discovered a delightful guide to our Chrismon written from 1975, when our Chrismon tree was dedicated. Here is what our dedication booklet says: “The word “Chrismon” is a combination of the Greek letters, Chi and Rho, the monogram for Christ. These monograms were discovered in many places—some on jewelry or utensils, others on doors or buildings, and still more on the walls of the catacombs in Rome. Early Christians usedRead More →