Earlier this week, I was tired and worn out, and I kept being lazy and forgetting all kinds of things. I didn’t put the dishes in the dishwasher and left them on the counter. I forgot the previous day’s laundry in the washing machine and when we opened it, everything smelled a little musty. I…
Confrontations
[Wild west whistle] We know how the story goes. High noon. Hot dusty street. People hiding on porches and behind closed windows. Good Guy meets Bad Guy for a showdown. 10 paces. And then the confrontation. As simple and pure and black and white as those old westerns were…. The world we live in is…
Holy Ground
In our scripture video just now, the creators left off one snippet of a verse. Right at the very end, the Book of Romans reads: Revenge belongs to me; I will pay it back, says the Lord. 20 Instead, If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. By doing…
Blessings and Boundaries
Oh, how lovely it feels, when we all live in unity, writes the Psalmist (Psalm 133). Grant that we all, made one in faith, may find the wholeness that reaches all of humankind, writes Mr. Green in the hymn we just sang (O Christ, the Healer). We know how good it feels when everybody gets…
Breathe
Shortly after we moved into our new home, there were a number of big, scary storms. It was cool for June, so we had opened the windows to let the cool breeze blow in. Our cats typically LOVE to sit in the open windows. They look out, smell the world, and watch the birds. But…
Give Them Something To Eat
On Friday nights, I get a little homesick. For the past seven or so years, every week we gathered at my sister-in-law’s house for dinner with her husband and children. At 6:00 every evening we’d walk in the door and be greeted with gigantic hugs and shouts of joy. We’d place our offering for the…
A Seed, A Baby, An Insignificant Life
The Kingdom of God is like a mustard seed that a farmer plants in the middle of their field. Two weeks ago, this farmer in Jesus’s story threw seeds everywhere. Last week, they let the weeds grow with the wheat. And today, our farmer makes another very curious choice. A mustard seed is incredibly tiny,…
In the Weeds
My husband and I moved to Cedar Rapids in October of 2012. At that dreary time of year, everything that had been growing in the flower beds had died away and dusty brown leaves covered everything. That winter was desperately cold… but I knew there had to be something planted in those flower beds. Sure…