Monthly Archives: January 2017

“Religious people have always been a problem for God”. – Reggie McNeal That would be us ‘churchy” types. Maybe not the extreme of Dana Carvey’s “Church Lady” from 1990’s Saturday Night Live, but the stereotype is not too far afield.  It becomes … Continue reading →

I woke up this morning to find it’s the 30th of January.  Perhaps not the most heralded day of the year – the calendar boasts no holiday.  Even the liturgical calendar offers nothing of note.  (Now if today is your … Continue reading →

Did you ever wonder if God was speaking to you, and, if so, wonder what was He saying? I have. I heard a statement over fifty years ago that at times it has been like a verbal earworm. On one … Continue reading →

In our men’s group, yesterday, I heard about a new television commercial which declares, “Love is patriotic.” That makes sense to me. After all, what’s written on the U.S. Statue of Liberty? The New Colossus Not like the brazen giant … Continue reading →

Living on a ranch, it seems there’s always maintenance that needs to be done.  Fence posts and boards break, faucets leak, the arena gets too dusty, the footing in the barn erodes, the tractor needs oil and lubrication, the arena … Continue reading →

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.” That’s one form of the Jesus prayer. Memorize it. Now repeat it a thousand times or so. Well, there’s more to it than that, but that’s the basic … Continue reading →

Last week at our LMM Breakfast,  I shared this verse from Romans 8:37: “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”  When I was in high school, I sang in a men’s quartet … Continue reading →

The theme of the 2012 ELCA National Youth Gathering in New Orleans was “Citizens with the Saints.” It captured the companionship of that event, as some 40,000 high-school-aged Lutherans came to the Crescent City to accompany the refugees (yes, that … Continue reading →

My desk calendar for 2017 offers an inspirational quotation for each month. I’m looking at January — “You have to dream before your dreams can come true.”  I’ve been thinking about those words. They could apply in so many different … Continue reading →

I always have to wait at the checkout counter at Walmart; they rarely have enough lanes open, and sometimes the wait is made longer by the actions of the shoppers in front of me. One day I was behind a … Continue reading →