Mary Odell

I love tradition. I adore meaningful ceremonies and deliberate, annual remembrances. The Christmas season is especially ripe for tradition, which may be the reason I loved the season even before…

Last year when my community group read through John’s account of Jesus raising Lazarus, I saw the story with fresh eyes.  The striking aspect of the story, which I had…

One of the highlights of a winter trip to Montana several years ago was a snow coach tour through Yellowstone Park.   On the trip we passed through a vast area…

Yesterday my niece posted a picture of her three spirited children —all under the age of 5 —with this caption: “Tomorrow’s Friday…which means nothing when you have kids.” I refrained…

As we have been reading in John the past two weeks of Jesus’s crucifixion, I am struck once again by God’s upside down math — the death of One that brings life…