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About
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24

Dec

2022

0

Happy Christmas!

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Celebrating Christmas

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Celebrating Christmas

May you know joy and peace this Christmas. May you feel loved and known. May you find deep rest as you enter a season of celebration. And may you experience the invitation of the One who came to earth as a baby and now lives and dwells in those who follow him.

Happy Christmas!

Art from Celebrating Christmas: Embracing Joy through Art and Reflections by Amy Boucher Pye and Leo Boucher.

Finding Hope when the Holidays are Hard

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Hello!
I’m Amy and I love noticing God's nudges of grace in everyday life. I’m a writer, speaker, and spiritual director, and I look forward to connecting with you.

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amyboucherpye

Jesus, Emmanuel… Advent and Christmas blessings

Jesus, Emmanuel… Advent and Christmas blessings from Waverley Abbey.

Join me in a blessing at the start of the day.

Join me in a blessing at the start of the day.

Nicholas and I love the walks hosted by London Gui

Nicholas and I love the walks hosted by London Guided Walks Ltd, and yesterday we enjoyed learning about Victorian Christmas traditions in London. I didn’t know, for instance, that this was the period when dogs went from being working dogs to cute pets, carried in a handbag (and sold to ladies who would promenade from within one’s coat).

Hazel, who runs the company, has a wealth of fabulous stories. I highly recommend if you’re in London to check out the walks by her and the other guides.

I’ve been in London over two decades and I have more places to explore after yesterday! Bonus - I made it back home just in time for kickoff for the Minnesota Vikings’ game!

Photos:
1: Seeing my first London Christmas lights of the season! Joy comes to the heart... Atmospheric photo because of the rain.

2: Lovely St Paul’s.

3: Hazel at work, not minding the rain. She knew just where to take us for a bit of shelter.

4: The Victorians loved red, which is just as well as it hid some of the soot. This is now a youth hostel but used to be the building where the choristers lived. The Victorians doubled the number of men/boys and loved a good descant.

5: St Bride’s church - see the wedding cake?

6: Dr Johnson’s cat on top of the dictionary he compiled. Those are oysters, his food (which then were cheap).

7: Dr Johnson’s home. ‘When a man is tired of London, he’s tired of life.’ Yes!

8: The Bridget Jones’ crosswalk!

9: We finished the walk at Somerset House. The Victorians loved ice skating, not least because of the unexpected intimacy that might come between those courting (with their chaperone probably not joining them on the ice).

10: The group. Thankfully the rain eased off by the end of our time together.

As the day turned to night yesterday, we encounter

As the day turned to night yesterday, we encountered Jesus, the True Light, while retreating in the comfort of our homes. The winds of Storm Darragh whipped outside of some of our walls but we enjoyed the warmth of the Light of Christ and each other. I so appreciated the encouraging comments after yesterday's online retreat, including,
"I loved the way that you allowed space for us to pray and encounter Jesus."

If you missed out, you can join in with YouTube sessions and a downloadable journal - spend just 2 hours this Advent and come away refreshed and invigorated by the Spirit of God. Link in bio.

The image is a poem that I wrote one Advent, which I'd forgotten about until someone asked me last week if they could share it with others. [Text in comments]

May the Light of Christ shine brightly in and through you.

PS: Join me in person in the UK at Waverley Abbey on Saturday or Mulberry Pastoral Centre and Nationwide Christian Trust on Monday the 16th. Link in bio

Writing Bible reading notes on Zechariah (yes the

Writing Bible reading notes on Zechariah (yes the OT prophet) for New Daylight and goodness me I really needed the reward of slashing through the number when I completed a draft of each one... it’s a tough book, filled with night visions and things like flying scrolls. But it’s filled with God’s hope, with his affirmation of continuing to love his people.

These will appear during Lent of 2025! So soon I can move back from Lent to this year’s Advent, pondering Jesus who came to earth as a baby and will come again.

You can subscribe to all of BRF Ministries’s wonderful devotionals through their page.

@brfcharity

Happy Thanksgiving to all those celebrating in the

Happy Thanksgiving to all those celebrating in the States and for those Americans living in other countries... and all those who adopt the practice.

May you know joy, communion, wonder, and laughter. If you miss someone at your table, may God bring you peace and hope.

I share a painting by my dad, Leo Boucher, and a prayer from our book Holding onto Hope:

God of the ripening crops, soften the soil of my heart, that I might receive your new growth and life. Help me to wait and hope when all seems impossible. I affirm that your word never fails, and I know that you love me. Amen.

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If you’d like to support my writing and speaking with a financial donation, you can do so via PayPal:

paypal.me/amyboucherpye (for £ sterling)
paypal.me/amyboucherpyeUSA (for USD).

Thank you!

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