I was born singing a pure, “Ah,” according to my doctor and my mother. When I was baptized, I grabbed the pastor’s cross while he poured water over my forehead and then opened my mouth as if to say, “Thank you.” Even more than baptism, the Holy Trinity has come to mean what God truly is: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. When we pray, we have the benefit of all three parts of our Heavenly Father. Nothing…..
A statue lay on the resolute desk in the oval office of President John F. Kennedy. It read: “O God, Thy sea is so great and my boat is so small.” Whether we think we are important people or people of small importance, God reigns over all of us. That point was never so vividly portrayed to me than when I had the privilege of attending the graduation ceremony of 182 high school seniors on Friday night. The scene I…..
Sitting in church today, Mother’s Day, I was struck by a thought: Why do so many service men and women cry out to their mothers when they are near death? Is it because their mothers warmly held them when they first saw the world? Is it because they helped form their values, took care of their day-to-day needs and activities, and helped them to become independent adults? Is it because our mothers surround us with unconditional love, and that is…..
I over slept this morning after a hectic day at Wisconsin’s Solo Ensemble Event and did not make it to church. When that has happened in the past, I try to listen to one of Max Lucado’s sermons; this week’s was entitled, “The Holy Spirit Is the Forgotten Gift of God.” We learned many things from the COVID epidemic; one of the biggest lessons was that many people do not know how to pray. They feel that they are not…..
I have spent a lot of time since retiring from teaching trying to find peace in this chaotic world, but many times, anxiety and fear crowd into my otherwise knowledge-seeking mind. Anxiety is a free-floating sense of dread, a vague and distant nagging that something is going to happen. It results in feelings of gloom and doom and steals your sleep, your energy, and twists your body into a pretzel shape. On the other hand, fear is an awareness of…..
For some time now, I have been very concerned about the direction America is going in. People are not caring for one another or going out of their way to help others. Politicians seem to be more concerned about the money in their pockets than doing what they were elected to do: serve and make decisions for the good of the American people. The medical profession seems to have lost control of their own responsibilities, and women have no rights…..
So often on the Sunday following Easter, I keep reflecting on the power of the Resurrection and all it represents to the world, but today, I am reflecting on why God gives us so many tests and tasks. He gives us tests and tasks to strengthen us; even when we think we are doing the right thing, our lives may still be tough. None of us will ever understand God’s plans for us, but rest assured, all of His plans…..
It is the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter, and I am finding it hard to put pen to paper. I know that Jesus Christ died that awfully painful death so that I would be forgiven my sins. I know His disciples and Mary took His body to the cave and prepared it for burial. To prevent people from robbing the grave, they placed a massive stone over the opening, but when Mary Magdalene went to the burial sire on…..
Today is Palm Sunday, the day Jesus Christ rode into Jerusalem on a donkey and the crowds lay down a carpet of palms. Like today, the crowds were made up of many kinds of people, and like today, they would chose Barabbas at the end of the week, leaving the Son of God to drag His own cross up to Golgotha. On that fateful Friday, darkness covered the earth, and Christ would forgive us all for what we know is…..
I recently came across this beautiful Apache prayer, and I found myself thinking about its message for peace in our hurried and loud world. It seems like so many things we love are fading away, and a seemingly endless black hole is swallowing more and more of the beauty of the world. May the moments of your next few days be blessed by this beautiful prayer for wholeness. May the sun bring you new energy by day. May the moon…..