Mireille Mishriky

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Advent First- Santa Second! Keeping Christ in Christmas!

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Christmas expectations in North America vs. Christian expectations: How can we possibly convince our children that Christmas is about the birth of Christ and not Santa, gifts and stressed-out parents? Our son has come to expect the Christmas tree to make an appearance with the first snow flake to hit the pavement. He associates winter and snow with Santa and gifts. When we had the first snow fall, on Sunday, he immediately asked if we could put up the Christmas tree when we returned home from church. In North America, this is the logical correlation that kids make. After all,...

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How do we practice Hospitality?

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Do we practice hospitality only with our friends and family members or do we practice hospitality on a daily basis? How many times have we opened our homes to complete strangers? Let me rephrase this question (I realize that safety concerns may have led you to answer my question with a resounding “Never”.)

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SuperHolies’ Summer Camp Fun

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Good day  dear friends, The weather is getting colder and the days are getting grayer; nothing like pictures of sweet angels enjoying the SuperHolies at summer camp to add some warmth and light to my Monday! This summer, Saint Paul's Coptic Orthodox Mission Church of Chicago, leveraged the SuperHolies during their summer camp. I feel blessed and honored that the SuperHolies were deemed useful to teach children about the love of Christ. My dear friend Sandra sent me these beautiful pictures and the ingenuous way that the SuperHolies were incorporated into the material: ''the kids all had a chance to listen...

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Thanksgiving Reflection – More than puppets.

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If one were to spend 24 hours a day, everyday of the year, thanking God, it would not be enough. Thanksgiving provides an official, nationwide day to thank God for His bounty, grace, mercy, love and care. One can easily find a thousand reasons to be grateful. Today, I would like to reflect on a sentence I heard during a thanksgiving exercise. As everyone took a turn to express their gratitude, the following words hit a cord:   "Thank you, God, for not treating us like puppets."   It was said by a second grader, in my Sunday School class....

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War and peace: winning the homework battles

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War and peace: winning the homework battles   The beginning of the end: A new school year has started. 6 words that strike a sense of panic in the hearts of the most hardened warriors (also known as parents).  The carefree days of summer are gone, replaced by early morning skirmishes (why are children so opposed to waking up?), breakfast mission impossible (why must the last drop of milk spill all over the school bag like a water damn bursting) and the dreaded post school-day final battle: homework. To think that just a few weeks ago, we were happily eating...

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Why Does Time For Ourselves Evoke Guilty Feelings?

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Saturday Morning might mean driving one child to a soccer practice, another to a birthday party, dropping off the dry clean, picking up the first child from soccer and the second one from swimming or was the second one at a birthday party? This means that the closest you ever get to a leisurely breakfast is watching other families enjoying theirs as you wait for your latte in the drive-through lane.

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When you go on vacation, do your prayers take a hike?

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Vacation plans can present their own set of challenges. A consensus among family members has to be reached. Various alliances are formed, treacherous behavior is to be expected, “mom is right, we should go to Europe this year” says the conniving child while winking at his father. Bargains are negotiated, treaties are signed “You may have 3 consecutive Pizza nights preceding and following the vacation should we go to Cuba instead of Disney”.

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