Of all the holidays on the Jewish calendar, Chanukah, which began last Sunday evening, has always been one of my favorites. Even when I was younger and far less observant, I appreciated the holiday's well-known rituals and customs: lighting the menorah, spinning the dreidel, eating potato ...

Maybe I am in the minority, but what I love most about this season is the impending darkness. The Winter Solstice, also called Jule (pronounced "yool"), occurring this year on Sunday, December 21, is the shortest day and longest night of the year. There's something sweet and precious about the ...

If I were to tell you that I could point you in a direction where hope abounds and fear is all but non-existent, would you believe me or consider me a charlatan? Well trust me, I have not been hanging around any snake-oil salesmen lately. But I do hang around church people, and I can assure ...

My husband, Gary, has fond memories of several older men in his Ella White School neighborhood who influenced his life in positive ways during his youth. One was a crusty, tobacco-chewing, but likable character, named Bob. Bob knew all sorts of things about the great outdoors, and ...

What is Christmas? It’s the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, of course. But it’s way more than that. It conjures up childhood memories from long ago and marks the end of another year with nothing but our unknown future in front of us. As a child, my sister and I were always ...

This is our twentieth Christmas in Northeastern Michigan and a lot has changed over the years, besides getting older. Our first Christmas as empty nesters, in a place where we knew no one, was very different from the holiday celebrations up until then. We still had a Christmas tree, but it ...