Monthly, I make the drive from Ohio to Chicago. I have done it for 13 years as part of my job working for a software developer out of Chicago. It has been the same route and same routine every month. I always stop at the same Dairy Queen in Indiana on the way over to grab a small chocolate cone and McDonald’s on the way back for a sweet iced tea. One such trip took me in a whole ‘nother direction in my walk with Christ. ...
Do you talk to God about everything in your life? Even the little things? Or do you sometimes figure that God is too big or too busy with more important things and that the little details of your life are not important enough to talk to God about? ...
I remember hearing the following story: Arthur Gordon was cleaning out the family home when he came across something he found to be of great value. It was a trunk full of family letters......
The Biblical way of thinking is that a day begins with evening and continues with the morning. ...but how does the Biblical rhythm of a day help me?...
Have you ever heard the Footprints poem? This is one of my favorite reminders that God walks with us in every situation. ...
It’s so easy to get stressed out. In addition to the pressures we have all of the time from school, jobs, and even family and friends, it’s easy to feel the pressure to get things done and, at times, feel just plain anxious, worried, and stressed out. ...
On the 17th of March we are invited to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day. But should we? I mean, as Jesus-followers, should we show that we are participating in the day?...
Have you ever done this? The other day I went to my computer to look up one thing and then three hours later realize that I got a little distracted by Facebook and I hadn’t moved from my computer that whole time. ...
The calendar this year gave us Valentine’s Day on Sunday the 14th and Ash Wednesday three days later on the 17th of February. Interestingly, these two special days will both be on the 14th of February in the years 2024 and 2029. This confluence makes me wonder about possible connections between Love and Lent. Do we Love Lent? Could Lent be a time of Love? Are Love and Lent opposites? ...
It's a common question every year at about this time. I even remember hearing it when I was a child and, I suppose because I wasn’t Catholic, I didn’t understand what it meant. The question: What are you giving up for Lent? ...
A common complaint against the sensibility of Christianity is that while God - as a higher being, powerful, living outside of our dimension and yet interacting with it - can be believed to exist, the idea that he could listen to the prayers of everyone, all at once, is simply too implausible....
Do you find yourself realizing that you haven't spent any, or enough, time with God? ...
Does the world seem to be losing its direction? So much anger and people acting out against others to right a wrong or prove they are correct. Is it not written, "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth" (Colossians 3:1-2). ...
It is amazing how something so small, which started on the other side of the world, could have such a major influence on every part of our lives. ...
I am hoping that one of the blessings this unusual year’s Christmas season might bring is more time to stay focused on God’s Gift of love to us ...
If you feel like there are some days where it's impossible to move the mountain in front of you, here is the beautiful thing - we don't have to do it alone. ...
At its core, though, Thanksgiving Day is all about having a thankful heart, no matter our circumstances....
Instead of complaining, I think we have to be retrained to think differently. ...
Have you ever found a penny? I think most of us have. Do you consider pennies “lucky”? Do you stop, pick them up and keep them? More and more often, I think people are walking on by them thinking they aren’t worth much at all. After hearing the following story, I think pennies are more than “lucky”. ...
“Sometimes I just look up, smile, and say, ‘I know that was you, God. Thanks!’”...
Last spring, life changed as we became familiar with terms such as social distancing, flattening the curve and self-quarantining. We could hardly believe the closed schools, businesses and especially churches ...
A true-life story that illustrates the love of Jesus for me and I hope it will do the same for you....
Every year, as soon as it would be nice enough outside to open our windows, Mom would, all of a sudden, decide that it was time for Spring cleaning. This yearly event that took a week or more was one I looked forward to. The whole house was Spring-cleaned, one room at a time. ...
Valentine’s Day is a day that can hold many expectations. But hope doesn’t always match reality, does it? Maybe when February 14th arrives, there are no flowers, candy, card or romantic meal. Instead, it’s a day like any other. Maybe you know someone who even boycotts this holiday....
Do you stress about finding just the right gift for everyone on your Christmas list? Does it make the season more a hassle than a joy?...
Each Thanksgiving, my family and I have a tradition of reading aloud the Presidential proclamation for the first annual Day of Thanksgiving....
I came across this true-life story the other day and it touched my heart as a powerful combination of “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22.39) and “whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them” (Matthew 7.12). I hope you enjoy it and find meaning in it as I did....
Want to feel better about the present and more hopeful about our future? Reminisce....
I’ve always loved Vacation Bible School (VBS). In fact, this is the second time that VBS is the subject of one of my blog posts. ...
Important ways dads can be meaningful contributors to the well-being of their rapidly growing kids....
I’m sure you’ve heard the following quote. Some sources attribute it to Plato. “Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” Wise words....
Stop, look and listen. These three words aren’t only important for our safety in travel; they’re also helpful for our journey through the 40 days of Lent. ...
So, how shall we measure the success of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, her leaders and her "members"? The answer for you and me, our "scorecard" if you will, is all about making disciples....
The other day, I was having a conversation with a friend. We were wondering when the practice of “Passing The Peace” began at our churches....
“There was no room for them in the Inn” (Luke 2:7). Those are frightening words. But you and I must admit that often they are true of us ...
I believe it was back in November 2009, when many Facebook users accepted a gratitude challenge, posting what they were most thankful for every day that month. I accepted the challenge, as did many of my Facebook friends. I remember thinking it was a wonderful idea because it seemed to me that Thanksgiving shouldn’t be just a one-day-a-year event. ...
How can you celebrate the love, joy, peace, forgiveness, mercy, friendship and laughter the Lord brings you every day?...
The heat has for many been oppressive - has it not? Seems we get a day of relief and then WHAM it comes again....
Have you heard the saying: “You might be Lutheran if you carry silverware in your pocket when you go to church just in case there's a potluck.”?...
"Give me understanding, so that I may keep your law and obey it with all my heart." PS119:34...
When someone says the words, "Bible School", I'm immediately transported back maybe 50 years to when I was a girl....
"It's a well-known fact that songs are a great way to help anyone learn and remember, but this proved it to me again."...
It's obvious that we are involved and invested in our kids. Do we always have our priorities straight? Where does God fit into the picture?...
I don't want to just be a family like everyone else's family. I don't want to be a family like anyone else's church. I want our family to be a family of God. So what does that mean or look like?...
I share with you, yearly, the words of Philippians 2:5 and Chuck Swindoll's words about "Attitude" because I truly believe that in them is wisdom vital to our health....
I came across this true-life story the other day and it touched my heart as a powerful combination of “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22.39) and “whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them” (Matthew 7.12). I hope you enjoy it and find meaning in it as I did....
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