Last year I had a goal to read the Bible from start to finish, five pages a day every day for a year, but I got stuck in Deuteronomy. Moses’s sermon to the people of Israel before they enter the Promised Land is long and not particularly hopeful. But then Moses had a lot of information to depart, and the Israelites had proven themselves to be slow learners.In Sunday’s Old Testament reading, the Israelites demand to be rescued from their suffering when they…
“God’s one and only job description is to turn death into life. That’s what God does with every new springtime, every new life, every new season, every new anything.” — Richard Rohr The words above stand in tension with my past few weeks, as I said to more than one friend “Death is my constant companion of late.” Here in this season of Easter, of resurrection I’ve had more death than I’d like. Above you see a picture of a joyous occasion, the…
We live in a time when we are bombarded with information. With that comes the competition of who might yell the loudest for our attention. Coupled with that is a demand for our attention, which may be the most recent piece of information. Often the first casualty of an event is the headline that gets written by the next news cycle. Translation: if it is not in front of us right now, it is not happening or perhaps never happened.Here then is the…
13 Happy are those who find wisdom,and those who get understanding, 14 for her income is better than silver,and her revenue better than gold. 15 She is more precious than jewels,and nothing you desire can compare with her. 16 Long life is in her right hand;in her left hand are riches and honour. 17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness,and all her paths are peace. 18 She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;those who hold her fast…
Station Three - An opera singer And sings the tune Emily Dickinson God of beauty and whimsy, pour out yourvisionary Spirit on all musicians, artists, andcreators. We thank you for those who haveused their gifts to bring comfort and joy in themidst of loss and anxiety. May the grace weencounter in their creativity draw us closer toyou. In Jesus’s name, we pray. Amen.How have you connected with creativity during the pandemic? What were the stories that engaged you? (Television, novels, games, etc.) Why…
“You will show me the path of life; in Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” (Psalm 16:11) “Saying Christmas is at risk due to supply chain problems leads me to believe that you don’t know the reason for Christmas.” This statement has been showing up daily on Facebook, and I have mixed thoughts about it. I find myself caught between the desire to keep Christ as the center of my Christmas AND AT THE SAME TIME…
1How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? 2How long shall I have perplexity in my mind, and grief in my heart, day after day? How long shall my enemy triumph over me? 3Look upon me and answer me, O Lord my God; give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death; 4lest my enemy say, “I have defeated you,” and my foes rejoice that I have fallen. 5But I trust in…
…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, gentleness, self-control…Galatians 5:22-23Today we celebrate Pentecost, the coming of the Holy Spirit to the followers of Jesus as they huddled together in the Upper Room. Jesus had ascended to the Father and the promised Advocate came to the disciples through wind and tongues of fire, landing on each one individually (today’s first reading—Acts 2:1-21). It must have been quite a scene! The mystery and marvels continued with those receiving the Holy…
Yesterday evening, just as my husband and I were leaving home to attend a small barbeque, he discovered water in the downstairs laundry room. He cleaned it up and then discovered water in the bathroom next door and also in the hallway. Luckily we don’t have carpet in these areas, but it was still unsettling. There was enough water to drench a number of towels. I checked outside for a running hose, but everything was dry. We checked the water heater and the…
Alright, I have a confession to make. Don’t tell anyone, but for the last week I have found myself humming a Christmas song. I know, I can hear your gasps from here. “But Sarah, it’s only April!” “It’s EASTER...you’re in the wrong section of the hymnal!” “Christmas songs before Thanksgiving, that’s an abomination!” I know and yet I can’t seem to get Joy to the World (by Isaac Watts) out of my head. More specifically, I can’t get verse three out of my…
A recent television commercial features a young girl sitting on the walkway to the front door of her family’s home. She is chalking the concrete but also looking rather longingly at the people passing by to see if anyone will give her a smile. We see a delivery person walking rather quickly; he may or may not see the girl, but he does not acknowledge her. She looks disappointed but then we notice, from her facial expression, that she’s come up with an…
Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.Psalm 30:5bToday we are in the midst of the Easter Three Days, the high point of the liturgical year beginning the evening of Maundy Thursday and continuing until the evening of Easter Sunday. These three days are a single celebration that mark the end of the season of Lent to the celebration of Jesus’ Resurrection at the Easter Vigil and the later Easter Day worship celebrations. (Go here for a slightly longer…
Do you remember the day that you learned to ride a bicycle? Maybe it was not just one day, but several. Do you remember who it was that helped you to learn? For some of us, this means taking a trip down memory lane. It also might mean a recollection of spills, bruises, and tears. After all, it is the learning part that can bring the pain. Once you learn, it is just fine-tuning after that. In fact, after you gain a little…
I have a confession to make: I am a sucker for Dungeons and Dragons. I have all the dice, a few handbooks, my first character from college (which survived ALL FOUR YEARS!), and miniatures just ready to be placed on my tabletop for an adventure. I had a consistent group in college, and played a few times in seminary and had a lot of fun along the way.I heard stories in my early years of preparing to be a pastor that Dungeons and…
I love the church year, the changing seasons and colors. Whatever else happens in the world, the church year goes forward. It is not like the chronological calendar year that starts on a number and moves to another number at the end. The cycle of the church year revolves, with hints of the next season, the next experience always ahead. The colors change, the paraments change, the fabric and shapes of the banners, the flowers or the not-flowers at the altar. Some days…
I have cherished memories of Christmas from my childhood. I remember the anticipation I felt when the Advent wreath was added to the church chancel, how I watched intently each week as another candle was lit. I especially looked forward to the lighting of the pink candle, the joy candle, which meant Christmas was almost upon us. My parents were of German heritage, so it was our custom to open presents on Christmas Eve, following a candlelight worship service at our country church…
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…
“You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; In your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm16:11 “For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work; at the works of your hands I sing for joy.” Psalm 92:4 “Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;” Psalm 66:1 In the last eight months I admit that I have rarely thought about what makes me joyful. I have tended to focus on what is making…
One of my favorite artists to connect with on social media is Lori Hetteen, a Minneapolis-based self-described “haikuish” poet. She is witty and gentle in the same breath, and her work usually makes me pause. However, the other day, her work stopped me in my scroll and a single sentence lead me straight to a revelation. Her art shares: “And for how long, love?” “I can only say for now. And now, and now, and…” In the caption under the image, Lori writes,…
For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations. (Psalm 100:5) Our outdoor ministry theme for summer 2020 was “Generations to Generations” based on Psalm 100:5. In a summer season that was so drastically different than typical or anticipated, this in many ways was a perfect theme. Written in November and published by LOM (Lutheran Outdoor Ministries, our national organization), the curriculum team had no idea what was ahead, but I believe our God who guides…
"Sing praises to the LORD, O you his faithful ones, and give thanks to his holy name. For his anger is but for a moment; his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning" (Psalm 30:4-5). I heard this story about a college student practicing the piano. They were trying to learn the song "Joy Cometh in the Morning." There was a complicated chord change right after "Weeping may endure for the night, but.…
A friend of mine, a Lutheran pastor, author, and story- teller, Walter Wangerin, tells the story of his youngest daughter, a child of a mixed-race marriage, whom Walt adopted. It’s actually the story of her “story.” It is scary and wonderful all at the same time, and as an adopted person myself, I thought it would be wonderful to share it. Oh, and btw, her name is Talitha. Walt writes: “Once when Talitha and I were walking to church early one Sunday morning,…
“Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” Thich Nhat Hanh I have been reflecting on joy lately, which may seem a little odd with all that is going on, but in the searching and seeking of joy, I find myself more grateful for all I do have and more thankful for the moment.My family and I were very blessed to take a little camping trip two weeks ago. We were…
Things that seem ordinary or small but on further reflection are signs of God's care. after Gretchen Legler Three miniscule hummingbirds, iridescent green, alighting on the purple butterfly bush in my backyard. They have traveled thousands of miles to give me this moment of awe.The tiny fur ball puppy my friend adopted just before her father died of COVID. It prances about her yard, totters on hind legs to stand twelve-inches high, and falls asleep across her neck. A reminder grief cannot extinguish…
Recently my dear friend's father died of COVID 19. Noble Dean was a member of Faith Lutheran Church in Caldwell, and a man whose life embodied, it seemed to me, Christ's promise of joy. It's hard to imagine a man who had a greater zest for life and for sharing it with everyone he met. You can read Noble's obituary here. As Noble was dying, his family gathered around him. His oldest grandson, an accomplished bass, led the family in some of Noble's favorite…
As I suspect we all have all noticed of late there is a lot of anger out there. I’m guessing that we are all feeling frayed and move to anger much more quickly and it’s doesn’t always seem to be related to the event that might set us off. We are frustrated by too many things dealing with Covid-19 and the rest that it seems we have lost all perspective at times, I’m thinking of the protests about wearing masks for one.This seems…
Fear not, earth! Be glad and celebrate! God has done great things. Joel 2:21I love this picture because of the cycle of life that it shows. There are the blackened trees that were burned in a forest fire. There is the vibrancy of the fall foliage that will soon be carpeting the ground below. In the midst of this death and near death, there is the life of the evergreen trees.When life seems really hard, as it does in these days, we can…
Casting all anxiety on him, for he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7 (watch video) 2020 I designated as the year of "Joy." I decided to look and take action on things I was unhappy with. Do I seek God first? Or, do I do it on my own first and then go to him?
One of my favorite Psalms is Psalm 139 and particularly verses 11-12:11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,and the light around me become night,”12 even the darkness is not dark to you;the night is as bright as the day,for darkness is as light to you.On this past Sunday late in the evening, I went golfing. Rain showers had been coming frequently throughout the day, but by evening the sky was starting to clear. (Well, that is what I thought when…
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