5

A language we can all speak

Some days I feel like I have officially gotten old. I mean, 41 is not old by many standards, but some days I feel it. Luckily, not in my physical self as I am fortunate to be in good health, and putting my feet on the ground every morning is neither…

4

Neither snow nor rain

  I knew a pastor who had a small, framed painting of a mail carrier on her office wall. It wasn’t a particularly unique piece of art, it looked like a postcard set into a frame. It clearly meant something to her, so I asked her about it. In res…

5

Who we are for

Never did I imagine that putting siding on a house would count toward the ‘other duties as assigned’ portion of my job description. This past week, on the annual mission trip with the Appalachian Service Project, I discovered myself doing exactly tha…

9

Just start where you are

I adore my children. They are quite capable of doing many things, but keeping their rooms clean is not among their talents. I think it’s due to their creativity and full lives, but when the time comes to clean, they become easily overwhelmed. They ju…

6

Just be

I hit every single red light that evening. All of them. Between my home and church, heading south on Welcome Way, rather than the typical Jersey Ridge route, there are seven traffic lights. Some of them change frequently, some don’t. My kids and I hi…

6

Not to be saved, but to be faithful

Today is the second day of 20 during which Iowans can vote in this year’s general election. Illinois is already halfway through its early voting period. For many, I suspect, this brings a measure of relief: the end of this political season can now be…

3

Knit Together

During a recent gathering of the St. Paul Prayer Team, we talked about our various practices of prayer. Many of them have a special chair where they sit to pray for people in our community, and their Bible and prayer lists sitting on their laps. Some…

2

Lost and found

If you ever happen to find yourself traveling to the other side of the world to the beautiful port city of Osaka, Japan, you’ll have plenty of things to consider for such a big trip. But there’s at least one thing you won’t have to worry about: your…

3

Complete and Divine

One of the things I pay attention to when I’m writing a sermon is avoiding homophones: you know, those pesky words that are spelled differently and have different meanings but sound the same. There and their.  Peak and peek. Sole and soul. On paper,…

4

Mud-covered glasses

I want to share with you all two things that are true about me.  I have worn glasses for about 40 of my 41 years of life.  I have never been good at cleaning my glasses.  You’d think that I would value a clear lens to view the world through, but I ha…

2

Bit by bit and one fell swoop

Over the latter part of the summer, High Street, on the south side of the church between the upper and lower parking lots, was closed for resurfacing. Week after week we watched and waited, once the old roadway had been scraped away, wondering when t…

8

Paws-itively welcome

Earlier this year, the public library system in Worcester, Massachusetts, came up with an interesting strategy to help borrowers get out of a somewhat hairy situation. For the entire month of March, any library members who misplaced a book or damaged…