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In 1965, Brian Robson was a 19-year-old from the U.K. who flew to Melbourne, Australia, on an assisted immigration program to work for Victorian Railways. He got desperately homesick after a few weeks and wanted out. To quit his job, he would’ve had…
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St. Paul 7th and 8th graders, together with their (amazing!) sponsors, wrapped up the 2020-2021 Confirmation year last evening. Not surprisingly for this year, the clouds gathering menacingly overhead as the afternoon wore on made for some touch-and-…
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I heard a story last week about a preschooler named George who would play a game he called Poison Meat Eater. To play, he would bare his teeth, put his hands up like claws, and make his way towards other kids in the classroom, looking like he was goi…
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Early in the pandemic, a musical theater duo known as The Bengsons recorded a simple song at their dining room table. In the “Keep Going on Song” they sing of losing their work as performers and moving in with their parents, but still, somehow, remem…
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After returning from a weeklong vacation several years ago, my wife and I were unloading the car inside our attached garage. After carrying in an assortment of luggage, Susan thought she spotted a rodent out of the corner of her eye. By her reckoning…
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I recently shined some of my shoes for the first time. The toes were scuffed every which way, and different cracks and creases had become more visible. In one spot the leather was even peeling away. The first step for me was figuring out what to use….
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Throughout this season of Lent, I have been taking time at the end of the day to pray. The goal was two-fold, to make space to listen to God, and to avoid absentmindedly scrolling through my phone at bedtime. It turns out that prayer is much better,…
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“Godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation and brings no regret, but worldly grief produces death.” –2 Corinthians 7:10 It was a most curious feeling. After I received my first vaccination shot, I did not want to shout it out as a m…
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Whenever it’s pizza night at our house, the biggest decision we usually have to make is whether to go with Canadian bacon & pineapple (the obvious, best pizza topping choice) or some other option. Sometimes we debate what size pizza we’ll…
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Dr. Seuss has been in the news this week. Not because Tuesday was the 117th birthday of Theodor Seuss Geisel, the man behind the pen name of the beloved children’s book series. Rather, Seuss is in the news because Dr. Seuss Enterprises, the company t…
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This evening is the beginning of the Jewish festival of Purim (POOR-um); well, it is if you are reading this on the day it appears in the St. Paul e-news (Feb. 25, 2021). Our Jewish neighbors will be undertaking a long-standing and meaningful observa…
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Recently a good friend of mine called to check-in. She happens to reside in a nursing home, and her recent months have been less than stellar. Actually, she never hesitates to tell me they have been awful. So I was glad to hear from her about a brigh…