Based on John 1: 35-49, the calling of the disciples.
Showing up gets you half way there
Week two of our series: This is My Church! We look at why presence matters and why it is an important gift to the church.
This is My Family: A Starting Point
General Conference 1956
Today starts General Conference 2016. For months, years maybe, I have heard our church, my church, the church I love so much is broke. That we are weak and lost and maybe beyond repair. I have heard all the negative awful stories of decline, seen them with my own eyes, and felt it in my …
Perceptions
When did it happen that we became afraid to talk to each other? All of us have different life experiences that lead us to interpret events, what people say, politics, and even the gospel differently. Even "knowing" someone does not mean that we fully know how they may interpret something that happens or that is …
Living in a “Let It Go Culture”
My three year old came home from daycare the other day singing all the words to what sounded like a very complicated song. It wasn't until she got the chorus that I realized she had learned Frozen's "Let It Go" word for word along with intonations and hand gestures. "Snow blows white on the mountain …
Being Christian = Life is Fair?
Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” (Luke 12:13 NIV) I have a confession to make. This week my family and I have been taken care of in ways I am certain we do not deserve or at least that I do not deserve. God …
We should have strong independent churches too…
Someone (I believe it was my father) once told me that the problem with raising strong, independent daughters was that you got strong, independent daughters. Now living with five strong, independent daughters I completely sympathize with this statement. (Hey dad, at least you only had one!) There are a number of days when I think …
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New Year Praying
Last night we prayed for a couple in our church. The girls don't know them terribly well but I was able to share that their grandson, his wife and their three small children just moved to Narobi, Africa to do mission work for the next two years. We talked about how important it is to …
No Santa? Now what?
Navigating the month of December with children under the age of twelve in the culture of Santa-centered celebrations is a careful dance. Making the decision has had an impact on our December celebrations in ways I could never anticipated when we made this seemingly simple choice. Everyone expects that your kids will be visited by …