May 23, 2023 | Faith Reflections
by Mary Button You know those songs everybody knows, but everybody knows only about 80% of the lyrics? Maybe you’ve been that person belting out the words to a song, up to that point where you just kind of hum or mumble along with the tune. For me, it happens even with hymns I’ve known […]
Apr 21, 2023 | Faith Reflections
by Jeanette Bidne As followers of Jesus, each of us has many names. Child of God. A sheep of Christ’s flock. Disciple of the way. Our baptismal promises call us to “work for justice and peace.” Do we think of ourselves as peace bearers? How about followers of the way? In this Easter season, I […]
Mar 10, 2023 | Faith Reflections
by Collette Broady Grund Though I never would’ve believed it when my 46-year-old husband died suddenly three years ago, grief has blessings to offer. This is not to say that the things we grieve are necessary to our spiritual growth, that everything happens for a reason or any other such nonsense. Platitudes like those are […]
Feb 2, 2023 | Faith Reflections
by Ralen M. Robinson “I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; that I know very well. (Psalm 139:14) “When did you become Lutheran?” “Will you leave the ministry after you have children so you can be a mom?” “How do you expect to lead a church when you […]
Jan 11, 2023 | Faith Reflections
by Susan Schneider “But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. Therefore it is said, ‘When he ascended on high he made captivity itself a captive; he gave gifts to his people’. . . . The gifts he gave were. . . to equip the saints for the work […]
Dec 7, 2022 | Advent, Faith Reflections
by Jen Collins What’s your word? Mine is OVERWHELMED. Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. (Isaiah 40:1) As I spend time with people in various communities the number one word that I’ve heard over these last couple of months is “OVERWHELMED.” I imagine people everywhere are striving to navigate all the ways we […]
Nov 6, 2022 | Faith Reflections
by Collette Broady Grund This past February was not the first time I’ve needed and tried to draw boundaries in my life, to carve out time for all the things that are important to me, to keep my personal and professional lives in balance. But this time was different, because of a book I read, […]
Oct 7, 2022 | Faith Reflections
by Becca Ehrlich In this month’s issue, we learned what spiritual abuse is, and why it’s so damaging. We often overlook spiritual abuse because we either don’t know it exists, or think it’s not as “bad” as other forms of abuse. But all types of abuse are destructive to us and to Jesus’ message of […]
Sep 13, 2022 | Faith Reflections
by Collette Broady Grund Do you ever have those moments when you reflect on your life and think, “This is not where I thought I’d be!” I’ve been having a lot of those moments lately, and I have to say, God has been in them all. Earlier this year I was (I thought) a happily […]
Sep 8, 2022 | Faith Reflections
“Then I saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals, and I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” And no one in heaven […]