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Ten years ago, only a small percentage of people had heard the word “Advent,” and even fewer had used an Advent calendar. Most of these early calendars helped count down the days to Christmas and told the story of Jesus. Every day a little door opene…
Gratitude to me is not only understanding and acknowledging the blessings in your life but carrying the appreciation of those blessings forward into others’ lives. I’m so grateful that I’ve been given the life I have been given and the people I get t…
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Last week, we had an electrician working at our house. More specifically, we’d called to have someone look at the outlet on the outside of our house. All of our outdoor Christmas lights were plugged into this particular outlet and then one evening, f…
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Editors who are good at titling articles and books look for attention-grabbing headlines. They want to persuade readers to read on. A favorite book title on my bookshelf comes from poet and friend Luci Shaw: The Crime of Living Cautiously. You don’t…
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Today, or sometime this week, many of us will pause to observe Thanksgiving. We will reflect on the blessings we can count in our lives. We will take a break from the humdrum patterns of daily life and from the persistent intrusions of bad news into…
As long as we’ve known each other, we’ve liked to throw a party. Whether it is a birthday, wedding, baptism, or even just celebrating a day that ends in “y”, we love to invite people into our home and share food, fun, and fellowship. Sharing our boun…
St. Paul members Mike and Amy Paustian view themselves as caretakers of the family farmland, caring for the soil and creating opportunities for future generations of farmers. Turning in just past the big blue diesel tank of the world’s largest truck…
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Earlier this fall, Mike Fitz was sitting at his computer gazing at a webcam streaming from Katmai National Park near Kodiak, Alaska. The stationary camera has been in place for years and often catches bears or other animals meandering around the pict…
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On Monday evening, I found myself stuck on I-90 in downtown Chicago. I had been visiting friends at my former university and, much to my chagrin, hadn’t paid attention to the time well enough to avoid the inevitable rush hour traffic. If you’ve never…
Autumn is the season when every St. Paul member is asked to make a financial commitment for the life and work of St. Paul in the coming year. The vitality of the church depends on the involvement and generous giving of every household. The pledges of…
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This weekend, our family went to see a local production by some amazingly talented youth and kids of the musical Matilda. The musical, based on the Roald Dahl book, tells the story of a girl who stands up to a bully schoolmistress, Mrs. Trunchbull. M…
Volunteers celebrate and lift up fair trade vendors in the Book Corner. Out of the Blue granola is tasty, natural, and handmade but it’s the women who bake this granola who are truly exceptional. Mixed into every bag, beyond dark chocolate and honey,…