Our home backs up to a wooded area. Every spring, I try to pay attention to the trees, plants and other growing things coming back to life. I go out and look at the buds on the trees. Because it seems like we go from bare branches to small, green leaves overnight. And I want to “notice” when the … More Watching for New
My first car was a 1978 AMC Concord DL (DL for DeeLuxe!) For those unfamiliar with the AMC Concord, it was a small car, a compact, but it was a bit of a beast. I think the bodies were made out of cast iron. But the thing that my particular AMC Concord DL was known for, besides … More The Moment That Changed Everything
Human beings, by our very nature, don’t like things that are “unfinished.” We like things that are complete…whole… done. When we experience things that are left unfinished, it makes us feel like something is off-kilter…or missing…or incomplete…and it can make us feel uncomfortable. I don’t like it when walls that have been painted don’t have the trim … More Write the Next Chapter
As I write this, we have daffodils blooming in our garden and the crocus plants are popping up out of the ground in front of our home. It’s a sign of spring. As I write this, our middle-school and high school students are back together in the school building, all together, for the first time…in a … More Signs
He is risen! He is risen indeed! On a normal Easter Sunday, before the worship begins, the pastors and the choir would be gathered at the back doors, the lights would be darkened. There would be a brass fanfare in the balcony and then I would shout out the words that Christians have been saying … More Not Your Average Easter
It was a beautiful summer Sunday afternoon, and I was driving a group of elementary age youth out to Bible camp. There were around 60 kids on board the church’s , bright blue school bus, (named Zippy the Wonderbus.) We had eaten lunch at church, then loaded the trailer, said a prayer, and now we … More When Love Comes to Town
Growing up, our family would occasionally road trip. Sometimes it was to visit the grandparents. Other times it was to spend a few days at a lake somewhere, trying (and failing) to catch fish. Wherever we were headed, once my brothers and I were loaded into the far back seat of our family station wagon … More How Much Longer?
I love almost everything about bonfires. I love the warmth that a bonfire gives. I love the color of the flames. I love the smell of the burning firewood. I love the crackling sound the fire makes. I love when the marshmallow blends over the chocolate in the s’more. I love the good conversations that … More Ashes
Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed! I hear those words and they stir memories. I remember hearing the pastor say those words when I was a child at Diamond Lake Lutheran Church. And it draws me back to memories of getting up really early for that sunrise service, the Easter lilies, and of the … More Remember…
We’ve come to the end of the season of Lent. In just a couple of days, we celebrate Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week and the journey to the cross and then the empty tomb. During our midweek Lenten worship services we have been thinking together about the scars that we carry in … More Wounds + Healing = Scars
Test Driving Theology 