COURAGE – from the Latin word cor (heart), via French to Middle English – originally meant “what is in one’s mind and heart” but also came to mean bravery, pride, confidence, free will amongst other like ideas. Words for “heart” in the Middle Ages were often metaphors for inner strength. Sorry, the word nut in […]
Category: Church topics
This is the category where the blog posts I write inspired by stuff from my little church ends up. Most are inspired by sermons I have heard or things the church is doing.
You just make sense to me
On one Sunday last month in the tiny church in my little swath of the Midwest, a trio of performers sang a couple of songs. But these performers were different than what was expected for a church worship service. These three were members of LGBTQIA+ continuum. They sang beautifully, but more importantly, they sang in […]
Change is inevitable
I often tell people I’m not a fan of changes. Routines work best for me, even as I do plan a bit of flexibility into them as needed. Plans are made in advance and sometimes even have built-in excuses if I have to bail on them. And when changes occur, I’m often left feeling like […]
Noise drowns out love?
“If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” ~1 Corinthians 13:1 (NIV version) The world today is a noisy place. Everywhere we look, there are words of hate and rhetoric being thrown about. People are being marginalized and […]
Family
I just spent a whirlwind three days on the East coast visiting my blood family. As many of you know, I live in this tiny swath of the Midwest that is also called the Des Moines Metro area of Iowa. I don’t have ANY blood family here. The reason I live here is because many […]
You belong
Today marks a year since my first serial novel, The Magician, debuted in paperback format. But more importantly, today marks a year since the tiny church that my other half and I attend in my little swath of the Midwest voted almost unanimously to become the first open and affirming church in the city. Those […]
If I am too much, go find less
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.” ~ Matthew 22:36-39 (NIV) It was all over the news […]
Karmic Justice?
In the movie Ella Enchanted, the title character rescues an elf named Slannen, who eventually takes her back to his home village. Due to cruel laws passed by the King Regent Edgar, the elves can only act as performers and must sing and dance for any human, even if their hearts aren’t into it. Ella […]
Find what fills your cup
This past Sunday, I skipped church. I do that from time to time. Either I wake up feeling icky and don’t want to infect others or had a very late night because of work and just don’t want to get going in the morning. Sometimes I am out of town or have something important that […]
Go Beyond
The other half and I have been geocaching for six years now. But it wasn’t until recently that we found a greater community of geocachers. We had a couple of friends that cached (in fact, one of them GOT us into geocaching). But when it came to actually meeting the people who were hiding the […]
K. S. Wood Writes 