We will sing a new song 'Cause death is dead and gone with the winter We will sing a new song Let "hallelujahs" flow like a river We're coming back to life Reaching towards the light Your love is like springtime* I’ve always resonated with the church calendar. Maybe it stems from my childhood. I grew up going to a Lutheran Church in the very small rural town of Hartland, Minnesota. I loved being there. I liked singing hymns and memorizing the liturgy. I enjoyed celebrating th

Several weeks ago I was at my church participating in a guided experience of listening prayer. The theme was “Thresholds.” A spiritual director, a woman named Kari, invited us to imagine ourselves exiting one door, and entering another. I saw the front door of my Green Lake house. Wide open. There were squirrels and eagles and everything green. And then, in prayer, I approached the “other” house. The house on Oakwood, just down the street from my son and his family. (The hous

Reading the Old Testament in light of the New is an overwhelming contrast. Like— Night and day. Dark and light. Death to life. Old to New. New. New. Do you think God created this contrast on purpose? I mean, is it possible all of those laws, the sacrificial system, all the death, violence and blood, were merely the setup for Jesus’ 3-word mic drop? “It is finished.” Tetelestai. Finished. The whole complicated, bloody mess. Finished. Please excuse me. I’ve been immersed

Forty days is a long time. A true test, if you know what I mean. Long enough to lose trust and choose an idol. Long enough to fear giants in a land of promise. And long enough, too, for the only faithful human to pass a test that would change the world.* This is why we do it. This season we call Lent. We mark off 40 days leading to the cross. 40 days reminding us that we are fractured and fragile and unfaithful people. My husband gave up fretting for Lent. Specifically he ha

Photo by Joshua Reddekopp on Unsplash Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. (Genesis 1:2) Looking back on my life and testimony, I’ve been struck by a certain progression. I was aware of God and genuinely drawn to Him as a young child. My relationship with Jesus became especially personal at the age of twelve. And I became intimately acquainted with the Holy S

I wake a few minutes later than usual sensing light. Something feels light. My husband is still sleeping. The dog, too. And I think, maybe the worst of it is over. Maybe we survived. The sky out my kitchen window, tucked between barren trees, glows pink. And as I carry coffee toward my favorite chair—I see it. Full moon shimmering over frozen waters. No wonder I’m feeling light. I fill lungs, exhale, breath-prayer: thank you. We made it. Again. Like every year. We survive

The new year dawns. I’m awake early, a few quiet moments alone in a house still full of family. I’m remembering and reflecting. Looking back at a year of hints and discovery. Taking my first tentative steps into a year of unknowns. A couple of weeks ago, heading into the throes of Christmas, I’d come up with a word: FRUITFUL I took note, ruminated a bit, let it sit for a while in the back of my mind. As the festivities of the season ramped up, I remained aware, thinking this

The beloved fantasy author, J. R. R. Tolkien invented a word: Eucatastrophe. Even spell-check knows it, which is quite impressive. The word is a combination of the Greek prefix eu — meaning good—and catastrophe, which is not exactly what you might imagine. Catastrophe in a literary sense is like an epic plot twist. So—a good plot-twist. Or, in the words of Tolkien, “a sudden, joyous turn.” I’d been borrowing Tolkien’s invented word for this month’s speaking engagements, th

Photo by Nathan Anderson on Unsplash God surprises are the best. Quick story… The past several weeks my church has been going through the Beatitudes, and it has been stirring something in me. I’ve found myself meditating often on Jesus’ words, and it has awakened the teacher in me. A couple of weeks ago I was awake in the middle of the night mentally writing my own little sermon of sorts. I asked God, “Who are you giving me this message for?” A few days later I received an em

The first time I prayed the psalm I was hiding in a bathroom stall in the basement of a Methodist church. Something was not right in my spirit. And maybe something was a bit off kilter in that church as well. What I remember most is tears dripping ugly off my nose as I silently uttered my poetic lament: Oh God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; My soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water… For most of my adul

More than once recently I’ve heard people refer to my blog posts as “newsletters.” Which makes me both chuckle and cringe. Duly noted: I...

“Why is this the first time we’re doing this?” Kyle wondered out loud, sipping morning coffee by a lakeside fire. Nearly five years we’ve...

It was an ordinary moment in the middle of a regular weekday when I heard the Spirit’s whisper. Unexpected. Out of nowhere. No context....

Photo by Yannick Pulver on Unsplash I have a friend who uses this metaphorical expression: “I probably wrote my own novel about that...

“Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged....

I am a reluctant reader of Proverbs. Which is merely to say, I gravitate toward the Psalms, with all their poetry and literary patterns,...

Lately I’ve been swimming in the waters of the Holy Spirit—full immersion. In life and in story. In teaching and learning. Preparing...

Early spring photo of our house taken by "Lake Life" friends Steve & Sue Hage from their airplane! I remember a time, maybe twenty years...

It’s Easter Monday and I’m still pondering Jesus’ final words from the cross— “It is finished.” Last week, on Good Friday, I received a...

Photo by John Price on Unsplash “Wake up. Wake up, Church. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. Wake up…” I was watching Gather25 . Twenty-four...