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Thanking God In Illness

Like many of you, I’m sure, these past weeks our family has been struggling with the latest cold or flu that is going around. It’s hard to be sick yourself, but it’s especially hard to see your children hurting. I think it’s common for the devil to try and taunt us while we’re down, whispering...

In Whose Image We Are Made
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In Whose Image We Are Made

Have you ever felt like part of you is still missing? Or felt a need for yourself or others to become something more? During many of these summer Sundays in the Orthodox Church, the Gospel lessons are taken from passages in Matthew. They present many of those miraculous healings by Christ in the presence of...

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Thy Will Be Done

Every day, we face circumstances that may not seem ideal. For a day to be “a good day” generally means the events of a day go how we want, and “a bad day” means they do not go how we want. We often allow those days to determine our mood; it’s easy to be happy...

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The Cross Is A Door

I imagine nearly everyone at least once, has had a difficult time locating a certain destination. Maybe while driving, you were sure you had the right address but it didn’t seem like it when you were getting close. Or maybe walking somewhere the number on the mailbox was correct but the house or the part...

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Living a Life Transfigured

Today, I received a call from a dear priest and spiritual father of mine who was recently admitted to the hospital for some serious declining health issues. I had called him and left a voicemail yesterday to let him know we were praying for him. I was surprised to hear how well he sounded and...

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Christ is Risen!

This year Easter (Pascha) came almost a full month later for Orthodox Christians than it did for others. We are just finishing our second week of participation in the Resurrection of Christ, and for quite a while still we’ll be singing, “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those...

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Flowers & Weeds: Are We In Control?

When I was in seminary, I came across a quote from a modern-day saint who had observed that “Those who cannot control themselves are eager to control others.” At that time, I had been struggling with thoughts of others who were not behaving in a Christian manner, and it was giving me quite a bit...