Life
Nurture your spirit with these stories and reflections that explore the human experience.
Making room for each other and God’s spirit
by Elizabeth Hunter--Sometimes I wish I could spend every day at the beach, with its bright sunshine, seagull cries and undulating waves. Especially when I don’t feel the sense of community I crave. Especially when God feels hidden or I’m tempted to just...
read more
A time to remember, a time to let go
by Venice R. Williams--Four years later, what I remember is that it was a beautiful, quiet November morning. The children had left for school, and I had just finished the breakfast dishes. I was packing my garden bags with Elephant Garlic, Chesnok Red...
read more
A place for us all in God’s limitless story
by Jordan Miller-Stubbendick--The kitchen counter is covered with a fine layer of flour. My hands rock back and forth over my grandmother’s rolling pin, smoothing cookie dough into a flat oval. My 3-year-old son’s eyes sparkle with delight as he selects...
read more
Take aim: Developing the muscle memory of faith
by Julia Seymour--It has been said that one needs 10,000 hours of practice to truly develop a skill and be considered an expert in one’s field. Let’s say that we don’t need to be faith experts, but we want to be proficient at demonstrating our faith...
read more
Most of the time I keep my cool. This time was different.
by Erin Strybis–
Balancing a pile of dirty plates in one hand and a stack of cups in the other, I’m striding toward the kitchen when my toddler’s siren call stops me in my tracks. “Mommy!” he yells. “Miiine!”
Intergenerational community isn’t just nice. It’s necessary.
by Sarah Carson–Several years ago, I accepted an invitation to carpool to a Saturday morning diakonia class with a classmate I didn’t know very well. It took no more than half an hour in the car to notice how different we were.
read more
Why is it so hard to ask for, to receive help?
by Joy McDonald Coltvet–The day of her funeral was hot, so hot, and I must have looked overly warm because the funeral assistant did a double-take. “Are you okay? Do you need a glass of water?”
read more
Goodness is stronger than evil. The tomb is empty. Love and life win.
By Susie Gamelin— This week's mass shooting..." began the report on National Public Radio. I struggled to listen to yet another story of a mass shooting and scores of innocent people who, when they woke up that morning, had not suspected that their lives...
read more
I keep finding myself with the women–and in them I find myself
by Kimberly Knowle-Zeller— It started with a small amount of flour. Gathered in a circle, women passed the bowl from one hand to the next.
read more
The ministry of Jesus invites us to “Taste and see”
by Elizabeth Hunter— Do you associate sounds, sights or scents with feelings or memories? I know I do. Just a hint of ginger stirs up thoughts of Christmas and my mom’s peppernut cookies. Walking by lilies of the valley awakens memories of Easter and being held in the...
read more
“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples…”
by Angela T. Khabeb—
John’s Gospel is probably my favorite of all the Gospels. Several narratives that are unique to John’s Gospel have deeply impacted my faith journey.
Soup’s on: This Lent be stretched, be filled and be warmed
I first learned about soup suppers a few congregations ago. It was early in my journey to more liturgical worship. During that particular Lenten season, the congregation was engaged in a video series to explore our faith more deeply—but first, the soup. At first, I...
read more
Jesus in three dimensions
by Sarah Carson— Somewhere in the deep, dark recesses of my brain, I have several snapshots of a cartoon my mother used to play for my sister and me. I don’t have a complete memory—just a few random snippets stuck in the gray matter of my amygdala. I can’t tell you...
read more
Celebrating bold women
by Linda Post Bushkofsky— Have you ever thought about Mary as a bold woman? Our Advent memories of Mary’s song of justice have not waned so much that we can’t appreciate her boldness. During Epiphany Mary persists, caring for the infant Jesus as visitors follow the...
read more
Water and life abundant
By Ryan P. Cumming “I know I will never live as long or as well as I could have because I drank that water,” a resident of Flint, Michigan, told me and several of my colleagues from the ELCA churchwide organization. I sat in stunned silence and listened to this man...
read more
Encountering Jesus
by Tuhina Verma Rasche— I clearly remember my first encounter with Jesus. I was a college student and I was not intending to visit a church for dinner—let alone meet God in the face of everyone I encountered there. I was also not at all intending to encounter the Holy...
read more
To save just one life
by Sarah Carson Amanda was in a Detroit motel room when she found herself at a turning point. The man she was with had begun to beat her. “I was scared for my life, so I ran into the bathroom with my cell phone and locked the door,” she says. On the counter she found...
read more
Real presence
by Elizabeth Hunter-- "Jesus meets us in our spiritual hunger and thirst," Bible study author Julie Kanarr says (p. 29), which perfectly sums up this issue's theme. At the same time, Jesus invites us to ''come and see," explains Susan K. Olson (p. 8), adding: "You've...
read more