Do you have a favorite story or two from Christmases in the past? Maybe it was a fun present you got or one of your relatives did something silly - but one way or the other, these memories always fill you with cheer.

And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. - Joel 2:28

As we see in Psalm 126, a dream can feel almost unreal - except that it’s not a denial of reality. Instead, the best and most inspired dreams are deeply grounded in reality - but they see beyond it.

There’s the Joseph in the Christmas story, and he had some crucial dreams, as we saw on Monday. But there’s the other Joseph - the one from the book of Genesis - and he had dreams, too.

As Larry Dove pointed out on Sunday, the Magi who visited the newborn Jesus ghosted Herod…

in the message yesterday, Rev. Larry Dove kept bringing us back to the gift of being a dreamer.

This week we’ve been learning about lament. Here is a lament psalm, sometimes called a poem. Or just a really honest prayer.

The key to an honest lament is twofold: it means looking reality square in the face, and it means still holding on to hope.

Some of the Psalms have subtitles. It gives you a sense of the context for the prayer you are about to read. Here is one of the clearest subtitles:

Almost the entire book of Job is a lament. For dozens of chapters, Job laments his ruined life. And strangely, by complaining to God that God has wrecked Job’s hope, Job is actually putting hope in God. Because Job is still speaking to God. Job is still praying.

Our guest preacher, Rev. Riana Shaw Robinson, led off the sermon with the words, “I love lament.”

Today is another simple exercise in giving thanks - as a pathway to contentment

By gratitude we own God’s benefits.

Talk about holding tension - wow, the passage today is a zinger!

John the Baptist showed up with refreshing honesty and simplicity. He didn’t overpromise and he didn’t sell a gimmicky spirituality. He told it like it is, including how messy the world is, how messy our souls are, and how we could do better at caring for both the world and our souls.

The title of this devotional is a ruse, I’m afraid.

What word or phrase or image stands out to you today and why? Sit with that in prayer for a few moments.

This devotional is especially for those of us who have some measure of privilege.

Today we look at a classic Old Testament text: the three Israelites in the fiery furnace.

Some church traditions emphasize (overemphasize?) the victory we experience in Christ. Because he rose from the dead, it is often argued, we also get to overcome every challenge and come out as ‘winners.’