Seekers

My little abode is a little less brighter today. You see, yesterday I packed away all of the Christmas decorations. Down came the tree with its multitudes of decorations, all glittery and wonderfully themeless. Down came the stockings and garland. Down came the wreaths and all the tchotchkes. Most importantly, down came all of the […]

Love whispers

Unless you are living under a rock, you would know that Christmas, one of the celebrations that is central to much of the Western world, happened yesterday. Advent is over, the four weeks of hope, peace, joy and love culminating in the final night of light. But that doesn’t mean the themes should be neatly […]

So you’re one of THOSE “Christians”!

If you’ve followed my blog or any of my social medias, then this shouldn’t come as a surprise. I am a church-going, Jesus-following, God-loving Christian. Yet, in the past few months, I have been called un-Christian. I have been told I don’t go to a “Bible-believing church” because my church voted to be Open and […]

Be Generous

“The Church is the Church only when it exists for others…not dominating, but helping and serving. It must tell men of every calling what it means to live for Christ, to exist for others.” ~ Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison There seems to be a contagion in this land. Well, to be fair, history […]

Do Unto Others….

We’re nearing the elections here in the United States, and man oh man is this a very polarized election. It seems no matter where one turns, they are hearing how if they aren’t FOR a certain candidate, then they are against everything that candidate stumps for. The nation feels divided and it seems that disagreement […]

Courage

There’s a scene in the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus sends his disciples out on a boat on a lake. Later that night, he appears to them, walking on the water amidst the winds that blew. The disciples are afraid, thinking they’ve seen a ghost. But then Jesus yells at them to take courage. Peter, […]

Consider the potter

This past weekend, the tiny church that I attend in this little swath of the Midwest had a special meeting after Sunday’s worship with a member vote. We voted on adopting the following welcoming statement and identity as a church: Norwalk Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is an Open and Affirming congregation. Inspired by our […]

State fairs and magic

It’s no secret that I live in Iowa. Or, perhaps it is, since I often call this area “my little swath of the Midwest” on this blog and in other place. But yes, I live in a state where there are more vowels than consonants. I happen to live in the capital city of Des […]

Put on the Full Armor of God

Too much has been done hatefully “in the name of Christ.” Wars have been fought, people have been persecuted, laws have been passed that oppress and marginalize… all in the name of Christ. And as a result, the idea of Christianity has become maligned with the idea of persecution, of judgementalism, of fundamentalism. It’s a […]

I can do all of this? Really??????

I live in the Hawkeye state, otherwise known as Iowa. Even I, who cares very little for sports, have heard of the prowess of the female American basketball player Caitlin Clark. It’s hard not to miss it, since her name has been mentioned a great deal this year at both the collegiate and the professional […]