Advent is a time of waiting. Waiting for Christmas and waiting for Christ’s return. I am really good at waiting… because I have no choice in the matter! Honestly, I am not a patient wait-er. Over the past two years, I’ve ordered a lot more stuff online than I ever did in the past. I find it…
For the past two weeks I have been sharing our core values at Community Lutheran Church. Some might think, “Big deal. More words for the website.” Others might be wondering, “What about those other words we use? Words like: Real People, Inclusive God, Radical Grace and Inspired Growth.” Are those going away? Yet a few…
Self-Reflection is good. It is helpful. Growth follows reflection. Self-reflection and self-awareness go hand in hand. In the 5th century, an ancient Greek playwright by the name of Aeschylus first wrote these words, “Know thyself.” If you know yourself, you will know what makes you mad, sad, and so on. This is good advice. Even as…
Today this verse popped into my head… Jesus said, But seek first God’s kingdom and the Lord’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33 I believe when verses come to me, they are given for a reason. Inspiration shows up when you least expect it! When I took…
If you have worshipped with us in the past two weeks you heard me announce that we are doing work on discovering the Core Values of Community Lutheran Church. Our Core Values are separate from but complementary to our Mission Statement of: Real People, Inclusive God, Radical Grace, and Inspired Growth. Our Core Values already…
In the gospel stories about Jesus there are several reoccurring themes: God’s love for those who struggle, those who are sick, those who don’t have it all figured out and love for the outsider. Jesus spent very little time with the religious leaders of his time. They thought they had it all figured out, including…
Tomorrow night at church, we will be screening the Beatles movie, “Yellow Submarine.” My mind wandered to one of the songs in the movie that first appeared on their “Revolver” album. The song? “Eleanor Rigby”. If you don’t know the song, the lyrics focus in on the isolation and the disconnectedness that we all experience…
At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore,…
Sometimes I think we are wired to ask the question, “What’s in it for me?” We are motivated by advantage. We might weigh the benefit of doing something selfless before we act. The benefit might boil down to, “Will this act make me look like a good person in the eyes of others?” Not everyone…
A woman by the name of Christina Fox visited some of her family in Alaska a while back. Upon arrival, one of her first questions was this, “What about the bears?” “Attacks usually happen when people go by themselves,” the family member responded. “That’s what happened to a woman last week. She was running alone and got caught…
