On a recent fall morning in a small city park shelter in one of the suburbs that make up the Des Moines Metro area in this little swath of the Midwest, activity happened. Twenty-three geocachers were signing or stamping one hundred-nineteen postcards meant for forty-eight states, the District of Columbia, Japan and South Korea. There […]
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.
I am still here – Redux
I actually handwrote this entry out before typing it here. It’s been awhile since I did that, but often writing things down on paper, while time consuming, is more productive creatively for me. My dearest, most magical readers….. You’ve probably been wondering where I have been. It’s been awhile since I posted anything on the […]
The protest remains
This past Sunday was Easter. It sure seems like a long time ago already, even though it’s been only four days. But in a world where everything seems rushed and well, we were watching and waiting to see if an entire civilization was going to be “annihilated,” the message of Easter and “Christ has Risen! […]
Oh to grace
The other day I was supposed to go on a hike with a few friends on a little used trail through the woods in one of the local parks. My intention was to replace a geocache that had been hidden and then lost. But alas, life had other plans. Mother Nature dumped nearly half a […]
Take Heart. Be Courageous
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 […]
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 […]
