Kelly Loy, Author at Treasure Valley Prays

Who do you say that I am?

Post author:Kelly Loy
Post published:April 25, 2021
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I received a text message this week that alerted me to a documentary called “For They Know Not What They Do”. I have not seen the film yet, but it seems to be receiving attention and awards. The film claims to offer “A Powerful Exploration of the Intersection of Religion, Sexual Orientation, and Gender Identity in America.” (https://www.fortheyknow.org/) It seems to highlight Christian families who are experiencing a family member who holds a different gender identity or sexual orientation than what is “heteronormative”…

The Smell of Love

Post author:Kelly Loy
Post published:April 6, 2021
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How does this Easter smell to you? I am writing this as the smells from Easter dinner still fill my home, with leftover potatoes and ham, tart apples, and cool hard-boiled eggs of many colors. Outside the air seems to tempt me with whisps of spring’s freshness mingling with winter’s dry air, as some of the bitterbrush in my yard look dry and dead and others are beginning to show some green. How do you smell Easter’s gifts of new life, forgiveness, promises…

Be My Neighbor

Post author:Kelly Loy
Post published:March 12, 2021
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Before I was old enough to attend kindergarten, I remember listening and watching the Mr. Rogers show on television. I was not allowed to watch Saturday cartoons or much else, but I did get to see Mr. Rogers regularly. Is the theme song still in your head as it is in mine?You can listen to it here:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0UT8yhW5p4These are some of the words,“I have always wanted to have a neighbor just like you, I’ve always wanted to live in the neighborhood with you! So,…

Allowing Time in Lent

Post author:Kelly Loy
Post published:February 18, 2021
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The season of Lent began yesterday, did you make it to one of our local Lutheran churches who did “Ashes on the Go” for your Ash Wednesday? Or did you find a time in your home or workspace to remember the day? Or did the day move past you in the usual fashion, and perhaps now you are feeling a twinge of regret for missing it, as I mention it? I always will remember one Ash Wednesday when I was living and working…

Simple Serving

Post author:Kelly Loy
Post published:January 29, 2021
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I am thinking about my Grandma today. And I am thinking about Communion. I miss Communion in our churches, all of us coming together at the Lord’s Table for the Holy Supper with our hands and hearts open to receive. I miss the regular connecting with Jesus, in/with the bread and the wine, and feeling the presence of all the saints also with us in the meal as I rub shoulders with others next to me. I miss kneeling and expressing my heart’s…

Mini Lop Rabbit Breed

All Creatures Great and Small

Post author:Kelly Loy
Post published:January 9, 2021
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Did you grow up learning children’s songs at church? One of the earliest hymns I learned was “All Things Bright and Beautiful,” whose words were written by Mrs. Cecil Alexander around 1848 in a collection of hymns for children. The tune I learned is often paired with the words she wrote, a melody coming from a century earlier than that. You can find it in our blue “With One Voice” hymnal #767, and the final verse is “God gave us eyes to see…

A Song as We Wait

Post author:Kelly Loy
Post published:December 8, 2020
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Can we start by listening to a song? Here is the link to Luther College choirs from 2013 singing the piece I have in mind. It is called “Climb to the Top of the Highest Mountain” written by Carolyn Jennings, based on scripture from Isaiah 40:9.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRU_JESEHJc&feature=emb_logoThis is my Advent song. I grew up attending St. John’s Lutheran Church downtown in Des Moines, IA, and I always sang in our church choirs from the time I was in early elementary school until I left…

Unexpected Blessings

Post author:Kelly Loy
Post published:November 25, 2020
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Have you ever been traveling and found that you did not have the money you needed to get where you needed to go? When I was in seminary years ago, I had the good fortune to travel abroad for a cross-cultural class. Pastor Jerry Schmalenberger had been teaching at the seminary in Hong Kong and led a class for us there during the month of January. Part of our experiences included meeting several Lutheran missionaries who were assigned to Hong Kong and facilitated…

Enemy in the Night!

Post author:Kelly Loy
Post published:November 5, 2020
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It was my husband’s birthday last week, and my young daughter and I made an effort to get exactly the number of his age of his favorite dark chocolates as part of his gift. She had carefully arranged the chocolate pieces on our kitchen table, and they were left there when we went to bed that night. To our utter dismay, in the morning we saw that the chocolates were askew and only a handful remained! Instead, there were many deep scratches discoloring…