A colleague, Elizabeth Dilley, shared the story of imposing ashes on the foreheads of children. As she made the sign of the cross on one little boy’s forehead, “From dust you came and to dust you shall return,” his mom bent over and whispered in his ear, “But not for a really long time, okay…
God is Speaking!
Last Saturday, Brandon and I cuddled up on our gigantic couch in the family room, turned on Netflix, and proceeded to binge watch an entire season of a new show. There was no waiting to see what would happen next… the episode played automatically. There were no spoilers, because the series, Altered Carbon, had just…
Focus!
My aunt Barb was an amazing woman. She put a positive spin on everything that she experienced. She had an incredible work ethic and loved her catering and restaurant businesses. But she also deeply loved those she worked with and her family grew to include not only her own flesh and blood, but also their…
Answer!
In October, my facebook feed and our news stories were filled with two little words: #metoo Sisters from all sorts of walks of life started telling their stories, speaking their truths, naming names. It was like the flood gates had broken loose. Some could only type out those two words (#metoo) and others wrote chapters…
Listen!
About nine years ago, we were in the midst of one of those bitterly cold Januarys… not unlike the one we have experienced here! The snow was falling and the temperature was below zero, but I bundled up that afternoon and went to the local nursing home where I held a monthly worship service. I…
Rise Up!
As we gather this morning to worship, we are looking backwards towards these strange individuals who saw a star in a sky and who let it take them to a manger in Bethlehem. They heard God speaking through that heavenly vision… maybe not in so many words, but in a language and a message that…
God Moves In
“Before the creation of the world,” Ephesians tells us, God had a plan. Before you made plans to join us here in worship at Immanuel. Before the star in the sky led the Magi to Bethlehem. Before the prophets first heard the voice of God. Before the moon and the stars were set in the…
The Peaceable Kingdom
Since the end of September, we have had a guest at the Dawson house… a young female cat named Twiggy. Twiggy belongs to my brother and sister-in-law who are just finishing up ten weeks in Germany getting to know the new company they work for. They also have a black lab, Rachel, but she was…