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10 ways to manage your mental health
1. Eat healthy meals on a regular basis. Stay hydrated. By eating healthy foods that are full of vital nutrients, you can increase your overall wellbeing and decrease anxiety and stress.2. Get moving. Staying active is as good for the brain as it is for the body....
May 2024 Devotional on Mental Health and Wellness by Elise Seyfried
As long as humans have existed, there has been mental illness. By some estimates, as many as 20% of all adults live with a mental health issue. In biblical times, mental illness was often misunderstood and thought to be caused by demonic possession. In modern times,...
Faithful eating
By Ryan Cumming THE QUESTION IN MY EMAIL inbox was one of the oddest I had received as a food systems educator: “How did a plastic box of Brussels sprouts destined for a grocery store in the northeastern U.S. end up on a discount table at a farmer’s market in the Bay...
Let’s eat!
By Lisa A. Smith “Who knew that the hardest part of being an adult was figuring out what to cook for dinner every single night of your life until you die?” asks a popular social media meme. As a parent, I feel this deep in my bones, especially after I’ve chopped,...
Emergence
By Elise Seyfried SOMETIMES, DURING WORSHIP, we are asked to remember our baptism. We watch the welcome of a little one at the font. We listen to a confirmand’s words during the Affirmation of Baptism. I must confess: These are not my favorite parts of the liturgy. I...
Serve, learn, grow: Make a difference this March
MARCH HAS ARRIVED. That means it’s time to celebrate women! Women’s History Month provides an opportunity to pause and reflect on the contributions women have made to our nation over time. And Bold Women’s Day, observed on the first Sunday in March, commemorates...
Winter/Spring 2024 “Scripture and nature: Teachers of faith” Bible study video supplement Session 3
Session Three: Rivers: Springs of life and hope Fresh water. Most of life on our planet depends on it, and the story of God’s saving work flows alongside it, through stories of biblical rivers that offer a vision of flourishing creation. Together we’ll journey from...
Gather offers Lenten devotional
As we approach the Lenten season, you may be looking for a devotional to carry you through the 40-day season. Gather magazine offers “An outward-facing Lent” with daily readings that allow us to explore our vocations and lift up the vocations of others. Download the...
Winter/Spring 2024 “Scripture and nature: Teachers of faith” Bible study video supplement Session 2
Session Two: Creatures: Our siblings in praise and trust Jesus invites us to consider the birds, but we’ll get to know biblical critters beyond the sparrows. We’ll look at biblical animals (some adorable, some terrifying) from ravens and lions to a big fish, paired...
Of monkeys, tears and the Wisdom of God
I was terrified. And I cried. I was living and working at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Hong Kong at the time. I’m not weepy or alarmist by nature. I’d weathered a ginormous flying cockroach in my shower. Swatted it hard and disposed of it. I wasn’t crying...
The winter storm
The rain is loudly pounding on the old metal roof of the refurbished farmhouse I call home. Sitting beside new double-pane windows, I watch torrents of water wash the leaves from the walkway leading to my front door. In the days before these tight-fitting windows were...
Winter/Spring 2024 “Scripture and nature: Teachers of faith” Bible study video supplement Session 1
Session One: Weather: Powerful force for change We can’t control the weather, but we can learn from it. Storms, rain, drought and wind shape the lives of human and non-human beings, both in scripture and today. As we face catastrophic storms and the weird weather of...
What critters teach us about faith
God wants us to take care of our world. My young son Richard showed me that years ago when he found a wounded bird, a Robin, in our backyard. He named it “John”. Richard ran in and said we had to save him. His dad and I realized that this Robin was one of God’s...
Blue Christmas: Surviving the holiday hype
Not everyone enjoys the holidays. For some of us, this time of year dredges up fresh waves of grief over our loved ones who are no longer with us. Some worry about pulling off a picture-perfect celebration or the effect seasonal shopping marathons have on their...
Feeling homesick
Moving in, moving on By Susan K. Olson BY THE TIME THE MIDDLE of September hits, the college campus where I work settles into a rhythm of sorts. We’ve made it through the orientations, the adding and dropping of classes, the meeting of roommates. The new notebooks...
Hide and seek: What Advent taught me about grief
By Emily Wiles WHEN I WAS YOUNG, I was a champion seeker in the game of hide and seek. I had an uncanny ability to uncover even the most elusive hiding spots with precision. However, when it was my turn to hide, impatience would get the better of me. I would often aid...
How I found peace
By Claire Garcia - I HAD BEEN UNCHURCHED since my confirmation day in 1969. I’d drifted away from church (but not from faith), leaving Minnesota at age 20. I went into the Navy, and became a hospital corpsman stationed in Memphis, Tennessee. After my discharge from...
Fall 2023 “Holy Places” Bible study video supplement Session 3
Holy places: Pilgrimage Pilgrimage, a journey to a sacred place, is a spiritual practice with a long history in Christianity (and many other religions). In the Bible, pilgrimage is not only about the destination, but also about the “holy place” of the journey itself....