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Maybe you’ve heard before that the most repeated command in the Bible is “Do not fear.” By some counts, those words are spoken as many as 365 times—enough to hear it once every day of the year. Everyone from God to Moses to the psalmists to choirs of…
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On Sunday, the carillonneurs from Iowa State worshipped with St. Paul at the 11:15 am Open Spirit service before unloading their instrument from a large freight truck and setting it up on the North Lawn for the 3 p.m. concert. When they greeted me as…
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While driving across the western half of Wisconsin earlier this week, a Department of Transportation sign caught my attention: Over 19,000 deer were killed on Wisconsin roads last year. Yikes. That’s an average of 52 deer per day. Extrapolating from…
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I bought a bouquet of peonies from the grocery store last week. They were tight balls of green with a hint of bright pink, about the size of golf balls. I trimmed the stems and put them in a vase of water. My kids called them our “boring ball flowers…
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My dog sits on me… Not in a “Let’s-cuddle-up-for-a-movie” kind of way, nor in a “You’re-home-and-I-missed you” kind of way, either. In fact, my dog is one of the least snuggly pups I’ve ever met. But she sits on me sometimes when she senses anxiety i…
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Earlier this month, as my daughter and I were hurrying out after Sunday services together, the rain started to fall and our trusty golf cart driver Dana pulled up and offered us a ride. We were in a hurry after receiving a phone call that our dog had…
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The topic of sin doesn’t have a very high place in our conversation and society anymore. When is the last time you heard anyone denounce something as “sinful” or, more importantly, acknowledge their own sin? The recollection of moralistic fire-and-br…
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It’s like an afterthought at the tail end of a conversation. A side note. A parenthetical remark. Oh, by the way … A couple that just spent an hour with me in a pre-marriage session, has the woman saying to me upon leaving: “Oh, by the way, have we t…
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My brother and sister-in-law are ultra-cyclists. They ride in long-distance self-supported races around the world with their bikes carrying everything they need. While they ride these races, cycling for twenty-some hours a day, the rest of us watch t…
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Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last several months, you’ve likely heard of the wildly popular game Wordle. In case you’re not one of some 500,000 people who play it daily, I’ll give you a quick summary. With each puzzle, you have six…
Adults are not often captivated by talking puppets, 60 seconds of silence, and the simple act of tying one’s shoe, but those at the St. Paul Movie Night were mesmerized. A couple of weeks ago, some St. Paul folks gathered in the sanctuary with bags…
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Today begins the “Three Days” that bring Lent to a close. They lead the Christian community to the doorstep of Easter. From Jesus’ final meal with the disciples, through what Scripture and the liturgy call his being “handed over to death,” to his cru…