We are grateful, dear readers, for the time you've spent here on Golden Hours this Christmas. Lanier and I have enjoyed every minute. Reader Lorrie has won the drawing for a copy of The Awakening of Miss Prim. Congratulations, Lorrie, and many thanks to all who...

  Miss Prim arrived at the appointed time in the early afternoon carrying a tray of freshly baked cakes. After almost three months in the village, she knew that tea, coffee, or hot chocolate, fine pastries, and a good liqueur were essential to any social...

I wrote this piece two years ago, the first Christmas after my father died. Placing it here once more in the hope that it might be a source of comfort and kinship for those facing a difficult holiday this year... I am so sick of death. It’s been a year of bereavement....

There are two speeds: Advent-speed and Christmas-speed. I don't know about you, but around mid-December the former fades. Thanks for the memories—fireside readings with the family, meditating about all that is to come, eight hours of sleep,  breathing… Nowadays,...

I'm a namer. Shortly after we moved into this RV, my husband asked me what we were going to call it, knowing full well I'd have something in mind. I did--though it had taken a few days to rise to the surface. "Camp Marah," I told him. It seemed so appropriate for a...

At times, the simplicity imposed upon us by both the house fire and our temporary living quarters feels like a gift brimming with meaning and grace. Stripped of all pretense and encumbrance, I really could not be better positioned to embrace the more penitential side...

It is no-screen Sunday, and I am tired. Nevertheless, I cannot let the evening pass without wishing the Interwebs a most happy and blessed beginning to Advent. The first, brave purple taper shines! All in all, a good day at the Boggs household. Not perfect, mind you....

“I need the church to remind me of reality: time is not a commodity that I control, manage, or consume. The practice of liturgical time teaches me, day by day, that time is not mine. It does not revolve around me. Time revolves around God—what he has done, what he is...

We have cool friends. Seriously. Friday night, two of them hosted a Michaelmas party. The spouse and I went—with bells on. The gathering was billed as "an evening of readings and song," and so it was. Following a crazy-talented singer-songwriter, a number of English...

I’ve never faced a holiday season with such uncertainty. Every year previous I’ve had a relatively comfortable idea of how things would go: when I’d start my baking; what night we’d decorate the tree; where we’d gather for various meals, and with whom. There’s always...