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Most of us, I would imagine, are creatures of habit. We have our usual morning routines. Or our typical bedtime sequence of events that tells our brains it’s time to sleep. Or we might drive the exact same route to and from work each day. While varie…
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Along with heat and humidity, the season of summer offers predictable sounds: rolling thunder, occasional fireworks, and outdoor concerts. One of the loudest sounds of summer comes from the buzzing cicadas. It is a high-pitched, electrical song that…
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It’s late in the night on the Fourth of July as I write this. My beloved neighborhood is fully embracing “the rocket’s red glare, the bombs bursting in air,” lyric of our national anthem. It’s so very loud. Thankfully, the rest of my family is sleepi…
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I don’t know for certain, but I feel as though once a hint of spring emerges in the Quad Cities, we’re all off to the races. Running, biking, swimming, or remote control boating – if it’s an active endeavor, there’s a race for it. I went to my first…
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Droves of Americans have been digging out their Bibles in recent days. They’re hunting for the Romans 13 passage that attorney general Jeff Sessions quoted when arguing for the administration’s policy on separating migrant children from their familie…
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This year the theme for St. Paul’s Vacation Bible School is Shipwrecked: Rescued by Jesus. It is a fun way to get young people thinking about their faith. Imagining that we are all stranded on an island for the week, we have been reflecting on our re…
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Running isn’t exactly for everyone. Many of us might have memories from our younger years, participating in the elementary school field day activities. That end-of-the-year celebration where everyone gets a ribbon for attempting a track & field e…
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A few weeks ago, I was riding in a Land Cruiser through rural Tanzania heading to a Maasai village called Nadaruru. I saw a sign for Nadaruru, and our driver, William, slowed down and turned on his blinker. But there was no obvious place to turn off…
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Listening to music has no practical purpose. It simply puts us in touch with the joy and beauty of life, or sometimes the sadness and uncertainty of life. Next to silence, I sometimes think, music may come closest to expressing those inexpressible my…
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I am what you call a “cradle Lutheran.” I grew up going to the same Lutheran church in Lebanon, PA until after I finished seminary and moved to the Quad Cities. I was baptized, confirmed, married, and overall raised in the faith at Holy Trinity. I at…
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Every year I look forward to watching the NFL draft on television. I love college football, and I’m eager to see the reactions of some of my favorite players when a team selects them. What an emotional moment to finally realize that their dreams of p…
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This weekend, I will meet with a committee in Indianapolis for an “approval” interview. Three years ago, in April 2015, I met with the same committee for the first time to begin the process of joining the roster of ordained ministers in the Evangelic…