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On many afternoons as a second-grader, our daughter Rachel resituated the chairs from around our kitchen table and formed them into a semi-circle. That’s how she converted the family room into a choir room. Some of the greatest sacred music ever sung…
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Just after I graduated from college, I worked with homeless youth in Denver. I would spend every afternoon out on the 16th Street Mall, handing out granola bars and socks. I’d listen, troubleshoot, and provide resources. I had amazing conversations a…
“To everything there is a season….” (Ecclesiastes 3:1) The Preacher, as the author of Ecclesiastes is known, penned a hymn to the truth of natural cycles: a time to be born, a time to die; a time to plant, a time to harvest; etc. As we enter fall,…
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I’m not sure we can overestimate the value of stories in our lives. “How was your day?” “What’s new?” “How are your kids?” If we give more than one or two word answers to these questions, they come in the form of short stories. We pick a place to sta…
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A dear friend dropped a lovely gift on my doorstep last week for my 39th (Yes. Thirty. Ninth.) birthday. Two of its thoughtful contents included a brand new sketchbook with perforated, thick blank pages and a pack of colorful, double-sided doodle pen…
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The lunch tables in the mid-1980s at my suburban elementary school were everything you would imagine them to be. They were covered with metal lunch boxes featuring the A-Team, Fraggle Rock and Care Bears; bags with ham and cheese sandwiches, carrot s…
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Who do you think of when you think of people with deep courage? I don’t mean gutsy, boastful people full of braggadocio. I mean individuals who possess profound internal trust in whatever their calling is at the moment. When friends and I used to dar…
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It’s “back to school” season once again, which usually means lots of school supply shopping and kids planning out their first day outfits. Teachers decorate their rooms while college students learn their way around a new campus. But, like most things…
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We’ve been doing a lot of improvising this week. After the derecho blew away most of the plans we had for Monday afternoon and Tuesday (at the very least!), we have been faced with challenges to innovate and improvise at nearly every turn. I’m writin…
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My family and I recently returned from a series of epic road trips which means: epic laundry. As I soaked a couple of new Columbia outdoor wear shirts in a cocktail of Clorox and Oxy, I realized two things. One, I must be slightly maniacal to be a mo…
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O Lord, hear my prayer. When I call, answer me. Come and listen to me. Zoom fatigue is real. Yet, for now, Zoom and similar video conferencing platforms also have their benefits. Of course, there’s the elimination of health risk. But there’s more. A…
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There is something pretty magical about July nights in Iowa. The fireflies dance around our yard, the air is thick with humidity, and bugs are singing in the trees. This combination of sounds and sights send me immediately back to my childhood and ou…