When I was a child it didn’t take much to scare me. I was scared of the dark, the woods after dark, the family dog (the meanest dog you’d ever meet), Freddy Kruger (thanks to my older brothers), and vampires. I remember very clearly I had slept over my friend’s house one night and when … [Read more…]
One day when I was a preschool teacher, I had a little boy in my class who was sitting at circle time and he interrupts attendance to make an announcement. “My grandpa died.” I said “Oh that’s very sad. I’m sorry to hear that.” I was trying to tread very carefully because his family were … [Read more…]
I love the stories of Genesis because they really get to the bottom of human relationship and human life. They are not preached on often and many people struggle to figure out how to find the lessons in these stories for today’s modern life. But the lessons are there. These stories are examples for us. … [Read more…]
I was going to preach on Abraham’s compassion and hospitality that he showed to the three visitors from God. But as I read this passage over and over again, I couldn’t help but come back to the miraculous ways in which God works in our world and in our lives. For the past couple of … [Read more…]
So there has been so many lessons that I have learned since social distancing began. One of the things that I have learned is that I do not like staring at myself as I preach and run worship. I find it very distracting. I have become very aware of my own sensitivities because of Zoom … [Read more…]
When I was around 10 years old, I would spend my afternoons after school at my Great Grandma Standish’s house. Her house was walking distance of my parent’s home and sometimes I would just walk there from the school bus stop. I remember one day vividly. I was sitting at her kitchen table that was … [Read more…]
If you had to define a Christian to someone, what words would you use? (Invite congregation to help) When Bill and I first started dating, my father-in-law had a very specific idea of what a Christian was based on his experiences as a Jewish man. And I must say his views were not flattering. Yet … [Read more…]
Our Acts reading gets to the point of what the early church and those earliest believers were to look like. It is almost a utopian society for those of the early church. They shared all possessions, all things, they did not act in mere human ways, but always with the Spirit. This was the hope … [Read more…]
Have you ever had emotions, stress, routine, or worry so take over your life that it dulls your senses and you somehow become oblivious to the world around you? This happens to me all the time. A few weeks ago, I was in the grocery store trying to rush through the aisles as quickly as … [Read more…]
When I was a child, I used to be afraid of pretty much everything. I was fearful of the dark and the weird shadows that would play out on the walls. I was fearful of the noises that never bothered me during the day. I worried about those scary shows and movies that I watched … [Read more…]
