Friendship, Listening, and Empathy: A Prayer GuideDraw Near: A Lenten Devotional Two Hands: Grief and Gratitude in the Christian LifeSabbath Keeping FastingA Renewed SpiritualityNurturing Hope: Christian Pastoral Care in the Twenty-First CenturyThe Power of ListeningJoy Together: Spiritual Practices for Your CongregationPrayers of the New TestamentPrayers of the Old TestamentPersonality Type in CongregationsSabbathA Garden of Living Water: Stories of Self-Discovery and Spiritual GrowthDead Sea: A NovelDeadly Murmurs: A NovelDeath in Dunedin: A NovelBeating Burnout in CongregationsReaching Out in a Networked WorldEmbracing MidlifeFriendingAdvent Devotional

Praying about the flow of time: Preparing for a creative Lent

Lynne Baab • Tuesday February 25 2025

Praying about the flow of time: Preparing for a creative Lent

Lent begins next week on March 5. This year for Lent, I’m going to do something I haven’t done for about ten years. I normally wear gold earrings and colorful necklaces. For Lent, I’m going to wear only silver earrings, plus my silver cross necklace that I hardly ever wear. When I’ve done this in the past — maybe for six or eight Lents between 1990 and 2010 — the dullness of the silver (compared with gold) and the absence of color speaks to me of the sorrow of walking with Jesus to the cross. And of course the cross speaks...

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Praying about the flow of time: World Day of Social Justice

Lynne Baab • Wednesday February 19 2025

Praying about the flow of time: World Day of Social Justice

I wonder what comes to mind when you think of the terms “justice” and “social justice.” Are they the same? Similar? Is justice an umbrella term with social justice only one type of justice?

February 20 is World Day of Social Justice, established in 2007 by the United Nations. On the UN page about the day, the header says, “Strengthening a Just Transition for a Sustainable Future.” Some of the themes mentioned on that page include caring for the most vulnerable, fighting poverty, reducing inequality, and opening up opportunities for all. This requires “a holistic approach that weaves environmental sustainability with social...

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Praying about the flow of time: Valentine’s Day

Lynne Baab • Wednesday February 12 2025

Praying about the flow of time: Valentine’s Day

My father gave my mother an expensive piece of jewelry every year on Valentine’s Day. He died in late 2005. On Valentine’s Day 2006, my brother called my mother to say he was thinking about her on a day when she felt so loved by Dad. I admired my brother’s perception of Mom’s feelings on that day. I have tried to mail her a Valentine’s card every year, something I never thought of doing before my dad died and my brother showed such sensitivity. Mom loves this.

A couple of weeks ago, in an advice column, I read about a widow whose...

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Praying about the flow of time: Praying during Black History Month

Lynne Baab • Wednesday February 5 2025

Praying about the flow of time: Praying during Black History Month

February is Black History Month, also sometimes called African American History Month. Black history is a topic worthy of a lifetime of study, and Black History Month has an interesting history, too. The origins of Black History Month go back to 1926, and it is celebrated in the US and Canada in February and in Ireland and the UK in October. France organized a Black History Month in 2018, and in 2020, seven countries in Africa began celebrating it in March.

Rather than dig into the history, I wanted to focus on prayer. I did an online search for “praying for Black...

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Meeting God in Grief and Gratitude

Lynne Baab • Wednesday January 22 2025

By Lynne M. Baab, author of Two Hands: Grief and Gratitude in the Christian Life

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Lynne Baab • Friday August 11 2023

By Lynne M. Baab

Yes, Jesus Told Us to Pray in Secret. But He Also Prayed with His Friends.

Lynne Baab • Saturday October 9 2021

By Lynne M. Baab. Originally published in Christianity Today, July 8, 2021