On March 23, 2011, my basement flooded. I know the date because it was my wife’s birthday. A flooded basement is NOT a good birthday present, by the way. At the time, Malie was teaching for an online high school and, living in a split-foyer house, h…
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Earlier this year, you might’ve heard about an earthquake that rumbled across southern California. Yes, earthquakes are pretty common in that area. But even though the 5.2-magnitude quake wasn’t particularly notable for any widespread damage, it was…
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A recent dinner that included chips and salsa gave me an opportunity for reflection. Imagine scooping up a chip full of salsa and biting into it – what happens? Unless you have a superpower of which the rest of us are incapable, you see the chip brea…
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Earlier this week, just after rushing to take photos of my kids on their first day of school, I walked through our neighborhood seeing other families doing the same thing. Kids stood on front porches or on the school’s front lawn with big smiles, ner…
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For every meeting and gathering in the main building of the church, the route from my office takes me through the halls of the preschool, often multiple times a day. When I first started as the new pastoral resident in January, the corridor was alive…
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I have a confession; and I hope I don’t hurt anyone’s feelings. I don’t like musicals. Like, musical theater. I like plays; I like music…I don’t like musicals. This hasn’t always been true, but for whatever reason, it has become true. My wife an…
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If you ever find yourself driving northeast outside of Tucson, Arizona, you may happen upon Biosphere 2, owned and operated by the University of Arizona. Inside this large campus of glass domes is essentially a mini-Earth. Whole ecosystems exist in w…
For many people, everything about these last days of July has screamed “vacation!” It may be the welcome break from a long slog at work. It may be a deep desire to escape the vagaries of a Midwest summer. It may be the fulfillment of a long-planned a…
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The abundance of rain has made the yards in my neighborhood lush and verdant. Tomatoes overflow their cages. Coneflowers burst with their bright pink in every direction. Hydrangeas have grown to be as big as bowling balls. On my daily dog walks, I’ve…
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Nearly 30 years ago, a German artist named Hans Hemmert came up with a new concept for a performance art piece. Hemmert wanted to find a way to visually represent the power of seeing others in a different perspective and the significance of what it m…
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“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age….
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I can be a sucker for a good parade. I remember community celebrations when I was growing up and I would get excited for the parade. Even as an adult, there is so much joy shown as people gather to celebrate. I love that a community can have pride…