I’m one of those people that enjoys the variety of the four distinct seasons we experience here in the Midwest. Each season has its own way of communicating God’s beauty and gives us something different to experience. I love the first snowfall when e…
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The summer of 2001 was filled with excitement and adventure. My wife Deb and our three children had outgrown our first home and were having a new home built near Emeis golf course. A few delays meant our new home would not be finished until December….
At my ripe old age of 85, and looking back at my life, I can only rejoice at how fortunate I have been. Words can’t possibly express my gratitude – first to my God and savior in heaven for life itself, but then also to those hundreds of people past a…
I have enjoyed 72 wonderful Christmases in Nebraska, Texas, Arizona, Hawaii, Missouri — and especially in Iowa. Two threads run through all of them regardless of geography: family togetherness (which is a mixture of presents, great food, fun) and cel…
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“What’s the difference between a wish and a hope?” JP asked us this question, but he didn’t answer it. We didn’t answer it either that night. We shared some ideas, but the conversation remained unfinished. Youth group went on, but the question stuck…
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For more than a year after my mom died, I strained my neck every Saturday to see her school bus, No. 20, in the lot across from the Bettendorf post office. A couple of months ago, I took a different route out of the post office parking lot and sudden…
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We all love Christmas and the joy of being together! 2020 is challenging our norms for gathering, however. Here’s the lowdown on in-person and online activities at St. Paul, beginning with worship: Many St. Paul people have said they can’t alter thei…
One of my favorite things to think about is the chain of events that brings us to where we are in our lives. This came up recently when my husband, Matt, and I reflected on our good friends who met at our wedding. They are now together. Our reminisci…
Since a young age, I was told to have hope no matter what. Whether it was for a good report card, a safe trip home, or for a successful trip to the dentist, hope was always something that was mine, pursued by me, won like a prize, a possession. Howev…
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I find song lyrics can be quite interesting. In the uplifting hymn, “O Holy Night,” I love the promise that this anthem delivers! Surely, it offers the “thrill of hope,” and the next phrase about the “new and glorious morn” captures the promise. For…
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I was baptized as an infant in the Catholic Church. I have no recollection of my baptism. All I have are photos of the day I was baptized and a baptismal certificate. I was raised in a loving Catholic family. I attended Catholic schools through high…
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“In a dark time, the eye begins to see” -Theodore Roethke Fifty years is a long time to be married, but yet not long enough. Bud and I had hoped for more, with fun plans for the future. One March evening in 2014, we had a lovely dinner out with frien…