A Sign of Hope From a Stranger
While waiting to preside at a burial at the Veteran’s Cemetery in Mandan yesterday, I had this touching encounter with a stranger. I parked my car and noticed her, a quite elderly woman fighting wind gusts to plant a bouquet of artificial flowers beside a tombstone. This woman was determined! I could see her scoot…
Lighting Matches Part 3: Start Here
The big picture of America today is intense. One look at the price of gas and my anxiety shoots up right along with those numbers! War, government shutdown, and voting redistricting ramp up emotions. Every day uncovers a new crisis! Here’s the thing. You cannot control what happens in the world, but you are in…
Lighting Matches Part 2: When a President Hates
What happens when a president speaks aggressively against particular groups of people? You have a few options: When a crisis strikes a community, people come together – shoveling driveways after a winter storm or hauling away a neighbor’s debris in the aftermath of a tornado. It is natural for human beings to come together for…
Lighting Matches: When the President Portrays Himself as Jesus
Consider this image: An enclosed room with a silent gas leak. No one notices the gas until a troublemaker lights one match, and then another. The match matters—but the greater danger is the invisible gas filling the room. This is called systems thinking. Instead of focusing on the troublemaker lighting matches, it would be more…
How do I love thee, Easter Monday?
Let me count the ways. Photo by kemal can acartu00fcrk on Pexels.com
The Night I Didn’t Do the Dishes
When I walked into the kitchen this morning, I saw them – dirty dishes from the day before laid out on the counter like people on a beach looking for a suntan. They were happy there. The dishes did not care that I had not washed them, and neither did anyone else, even though I…
Enough
If you think, “I wish I knew more. If I knew more, I would be better at my job.” Or, “If I made more money, I could relax and have fun.” “If I had more time, I could be a better partner/parent/friend.” My spiritual director explains that the devil’s word is more. A longing for…
The Overfunctioner’s Bread
You are sitting there in worship, minding your own business, and what seems like an innocent psalm leaps off the page and stirs up trouble. I don’t expect trouble from the psalm! The makers of the lectionary pair it with a Gospel. It is more like an opener than the headliner. During the second service…
Who Is He, To You?
We have arrived on the other side of Christmas Eve. On behalf of all worship leaders everywhere, let me say one big WHEW! It was fun. We prepped, we gathered, we sang, and finally, we napped. This morning, our congregation’s liturgy focused on Jesus’ name as it is scattered around the Scriptures. .1 We know…
I Wrote a Book When Few People Read Books
A year ago I wrote a book even though reading books is a rarity. If you are reading this, perhaps you also read books. Or, maybe not. It is possible you used to read many books and now you pick up a book only once in a while. I recently read (in an actual book!)…
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Lisa Lewton 