Claimed, gathered and sent

To prime the pump for Sunday. Lectio Divina: Sunday, March 13, 2011 - Google Docs

A great article to help us in our Lenten journey. Ash Wednesday: Practice Truth-Telling

This Sunday I supply preached at Faith Lutheran Church in Franklin, WV. The text was 2 Peter 1:16-21.             Have you ever walked into a restaurant or a room and opened the door only to be blown away by the noise? That happened to my husband and me when we were on vacation a few weeks ago. We had made plans to have dinner with our children and their spouses. Our daughter picked out the restaurant. When we got inside the foyer the earsplitting music was so loud that we could not even hear each other talking. Because of my husband’s hearing problem, we knew that if we ate at this restaurant, he would not hear the conversation at the table. We decided to go elsewhere. The second restaurant had a much quieter atmosphere and we were able to enjoy our time together.             I may be stating the obvious here, but have you noticed that it’s easier to hear a conversation w...

Today I led worship and preached at nearby Zion Lutheran Church in Baker, WV. The text I preached from is Isaiah 49:8-16 .             I have two grown children. Though it now seems like a blur, I sometimes think about their early months of life. Everyone knows people who have such good babies . They don’t cry much, they just seem so happy. They sleep at night. I know those kinds of babies exist, but I didn’t have them.   My firstborn, Sarah cried for the first 6 months of her life. She would be fed, dry, and seemingly have all her needs met…yet she would cry and cry and cry. After a while, I cried too. The only way to settle her down was to walk her. I walked and walked and walked. I felt like I would never sleep ever again or eat another meal in peace. Yet as my daughter, I wanted to do everything in my power to take care of her and let her know how much I cared about her.        ...

Jan from RevGalBlogPals wrote this: There is a dramatic and surprising venue for Spiritual Formation/Sunday School classes at my church: Each week a different person teaches about a "word" that expresses his/her passion or interest. The first week someone spoke about "hospitality" with abundant treats on her mother and grandmother's china arrayed on tables. Other words have been "connectivity," "Trinity," "money," and "dreams." No one knows which person will be teaching until the class convenes. I am teaching this Sunday and plan to talk about " stirrings ." For this Friday Five, please list five words that identify your passions, spirituality, and/or life. Describe as much or as little as you wish. 1. faithfulness --When I get discouraged, all I have to do is look back at God's continual faithfulness throughout my life and the lives of so many. This stirs up within me a desire to be a faithful...

This impressed me today as I read it. God is so faithful through all the days of our lives. At the end of his life, this was Luther's declaration: ON THIS DAY... ...in 1546 Luther died in his birth town of Eisleben. In order that his opponents couldn't say he recanted, Luther was asked this final question: 'Doctor Martin, honored father, do you die in the faith in Christ and in the teachings that you have preached in his name?' Luther's answer and final word was 'Yes.' Old Lutheran May the same be true for each of us. Google Image

I had the privilege of preaching at my internship site, Grace Lutheran Church in Petersburg, WV. The text was the gospel reading Matthew 5:21-37.             Relationships. They can be so wonderfully nurturing, so helpful to get us through difficult times in life. Whether they are friends or family. There are people that I’ve had as friends for years. We don’t see each other often, talk often, and yet when we’re together…we pick up right where we left off. They’re the kind of friends you can laugh and cry with.             I have one long time friend like that. Her name is Pat—she laughed with me and cried with me. When my Mom was dying and I was far away overseas, she visited her in the hospital when I couldn’t. Mom died 3 weeks before I returned to the States. Pat mourned with me. When I struggled with readjusting to life in the States, Pat walked with me. And we still p...