In recent months, people have asked me many times, and I have asked myself, “Given these last four years, and the deep divisions between people, and between people in the same church — especially in […]
This morning I had a text at 7am. A pastor I counsel needed to talk. To say the least 2020 was a hard year for him. By 8am we were talking, as we have many […]
In the last few years, I have given my bookshelves a break by giving away 1600 books, mostly books of theology and practical ministry. In my most recent purging last fall in preparation to paint […]
Almost every week it seems I meet with someone who is caught in what writer Frederick Buechner calls the paradox of the human condition: More than anything, we hunger to be known in our full […]
I have been thinking about the angelic appearances in the Christmas story, particularly the angels who appeared to Joseph in 4 separate dreams. Of course, Mary was not dreaming when the angel Gabriel appeared to […]
This past summer my siblings and I stood in the Hoxie, Kansas, cemetery and buried my mom’s ashes next to where my dad and grandparents are laid to rest. After a funeral luncheon and most […]
The other day in Walgreens I heard a woman singing. “O Tannenbaum, O Tannenbaum, how lovely are thy branches.” I stopped and listened as she sang while pushing her cart. It took me back to […]
As we celebrate Advent and prepare for Jesus’ coming, my missionary friend Carolyn says we actually are looking for a 3-fold coming as we move toward Christmas. Jesus as a baby. “And the Word became […]
