Mad Deep

50/50 or 100/100?

2012-02-16T09:19:00.000-05:00

I have a problem with stingy people. I know it's wrong to judge others and I also know that people usually are the way they are because of what they learned as children or the various awfulness life has dealt them. I get that. I guess I'm not really judging as much as wondering what people feel they gain by being stingy with others. I'm not just talking about material things, in fact I think

Just some thoughts

2012-02-14T09:06:00.000-05:00

After 6 months of living in NY.... I can have a conversation with 3 people at the same time and know what's going on in all 3. New Yorkers can have 7 or 8 at a time, but I'm not there yet. I'd rather have a PBJ at home than eat at a chain restaurant. "Colby-Jack" is no longer a viable cheese option. I'm completely addicted to small, local grocers who carry things like rugula, kale salads,

Baby, I was born this way...

2012-01-26T14:46:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite songs recently is “Born this way” by Lady Gaga. If you haven’t heard it, I encourage you to check it out, but I don’t recommend the music video…it’s creepy. Let me share some things with

That pesky "already/not yet"...

2012-01-24T16:12:00.000-05:00

The Kingdom of God is coming and is already here...say what?? Mark tells us that the kingdom of God is here (Mark 1:14-20) and Paul tells us that the kingdom of God is coming soon (1 Cor 7:29-31). So how

A theory of blessing

2011-12-30T07:01:00.001-05:00

I'm working on an issue that has troubled me for some time...the idea that "blessing," in our society, is too often equated with financial prosperity. Is financial wealth really a blessing, meaning it comes from God? Given what I have read in the Bible, the connection is a weak one at best. It sounds to me more like something we Westerners have concocted in order to feel better about excessive

Why I hate Christmas

2011-12-17T10:12:00.000-05:00

Don't get me wrong, I love, love, LOVE the Christ part of Christmas....I LOVE the candlelight services in church, the focus on God's breaking into the creation in the oddest of ways, the overall generosity and congeniality of folks...I love all those parts of Christmas. What I hate is the duplicity we Christians demonstrate during this season. (I said we...I include myself in this tragedy).

New York City

2011-12-01T12:38:00.001-05:00

New York City is one of my favorite places to be. Yes, I know everyone loves NYC and no one is really interested in another blog post about how fab it is. But here's the thing...I like being there.....I like who I am when I am there. For me, it's less about the coolness of the city (which, of course, is extreme) and more about the way I feel when I am there. In the city, I feel connected in a

"Chosen by God"

2011-11-01T08:38:00.002-04:00

The doctrine of “election” or “predestination” (specifically Calvin’s view) rarely has come up in the Reformed churches where I have worshipped and served over the past 14 years. I believe our silence about it is a lack of understanding or perhaps an embarrassment about its elitist-sounding quality. Calvin’s doctrine tells us that some are chosen by God for salvation and others for damnation

Don't Worry, Be Happy!

2011-10-13T09:59:00.001-04:00

If you don't recognize the title of this post it means you are probably much, much younger than I am. Those who are in my range do recognize it as a song title from the 80's (which my children think is "retro") and a catch-phrase that endured another decade or so beyond its time. Wouldn't it be great if it were that easy? I'm not a worrier, necessarily, I tend to set things aside fairly easily

Things that make me ask, "Why?"

2011-10-04T12:48:00.000-04:00

A competent 16-year old, who can be trusted to drive a car, do his homework, and be generally responsible has to be reminded every single week to take the trash to the curb....his only "chore." Why? It takes weeks of daily exercise, fairly intense exercise at that, to lose just one or two pounds and generally "tone" a body.....but only a few bowls of ice cream to take you right back to where

Gray roots and baggy sweats

2011-09-10T07:52:00.000-04:00

I haven't quite accepted the fact that I am a middle-aged woman. I don't feel "middle-aged." I look in the mirror and barely recognize the face I see sometimes (other times, I recognize it just fine and it's my mother's). I still like most of the clothes in the junior section of department stores and I still can't bring myself to wear pastels. My brain somehow has not kept up with my life.

Two weeks in New York

2011-08-29T07:24:00.001-04:00

I've lived in New York for two weeks now and these are my observations: New Yorkers are fabulous people. Most are kind, considerate, generous, and hospitable. The stereotypical rude, self-absorbed NYer does exist, I'll not deny it (they exist in the Midwest, too)....but for the most part, people here are wonderful. In a crisis (like a hurricane...just sayin') they come together like

Suffering and Obsession

2011-08-03T08:41:00.000-04:00

I am totally fascinated with the television show, "Hoarders: Buried Alive." Maybe it's because I'm sort of an anti-hoarder, I tend to err on the other side which means throwing away things I end up needing later. I tend to have to purchase things two or three times before I hang onto them. I'm sure there's a label for that, too, they just haven't made a television show about it yet...it's not

Leaving Wisconsin

2011-07-28T07:16:00.000-04:00

Things I will miss in Wisconsin: (in no particular order) Badger football games at Camp Randall Gwen and Steve and their wonderful sons Crazy, wicked thunderstorms! Alto cheese and the Alto fair (if you've never been, you don't know what you're missing!) Folks dropping by just because they haven't seen you in a few days The entire state wearing Packers gear on game days (and pretty

A little help, maybe?

2011-07-16T06:47:00.000-04:00

Just when you think you really can move on...that you really can be happy again, trust again, love again, people want to throw you back down into the mud...they behave as though the choices you are making to move on with your life are somehow unrelated to the pain and disappointment they have caused. As though we don't have to make adjustments in life sometimes because of the choices others have

The right thing...

2011-06-08T09:10:00.000-04:00

Anyone, then, who knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, commits sin. (James 4:16b) Easy for you to say, James. Doing the "right thing" often is very difficult. It can cost us a friendship or a job...or any number of things we hold dear. Except that it wasn't "easy" for James to say....in the end he was stoned for "breaking the law".....for proclaiming Jesus as Messiah. James

On being...

2011-05-24T11:30:00.001-04:00

Recently, I have begun the process of counseling therapy so that I may better understand myself and myself-in-relationship with others, God, etc. When I started the process I was certain that I was somehow flawed, deeply flawed and in need of "fixing." I felt as though I never quite measured up to the expectations of others and I wondered what it was within my being that was so "wrong." Turns

Renewal and real life

2011-04-24T20:44:00.000-04:00

Today we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; the event which satisfies the debt of sin for all humanity and for all time. It is a celebration of renewed life, victory over death, and the beginning of a renewed relationship between God and humanity. The slate is wiped clean, our sin keeps us from God no more. It's a pretty big deal. And sometimes I feel like I should "

Just let go

2011-03-23T07:08:00.000-04:00

My spiritual coach said something to me recently that has really hit home... we were talking about living in the expectation that God will do great things if we only will step aside and let Him. She said it like this: It's as if I am clinging to a rope that is hanging over a great cliff high in the air. As I dangle there, holding the rope for dear life, I cannot see that God has His hand

Four Dresses

2011-03-18T08:34:00.001-04:00

*Author's note: I did not, in the end, get married. Long story. Had a lot of positive feedback on the article, so I'm leaving it up. I'm getting married in a few months (85 days, to be exact) and, as any woman who has planned to be married knows, the search for "the dress" is a challenging one. So much expectation is placed on the dress. It has to be perfect. This dress has to meet so

Thoughts on patience

2011-02-26T10:31:00.000-05:00

A co-worker asked me the other day, "What is God teaching you?" That certainly beats, "What did you do this weekend?" as far as co-worker chit chat goes. I stumbled to answer because I was expecting something more along the lines of, "What did you do this weekend?" and out of my mouth fell, "Patience. He is teaching me patience." I hadn't given it more than a few seconds of thought but my

Take nothing with you....thoughts on Luke 10

2011-02-20T10:18:00.000-05:00

When Jesus sends out the 70 (or 72 depending on your translation) in the beginning of Luke 10, He gives some surprising instructions: take nothing with you; no purse, no shoes, no extra clothes and greet no one on the road. Seems odd to tell folks who are about to set out on a fairly long journey (by foot, in the desert) to take nothing with them, right? Not even a clean shirt... Then He

Things I would tell my daughter if I had one...

2011-02-09T16:40:00.000-05:00

Spend less time getting ready to do things than you spend actually doing them. You are beautiful always. Life is challenging, often sad, and disappointing at times..knowing that up front makes it easier to handle. You are worth waiting for, fighting for, and dying for. Get dressed up sometimes just for the fun of it. Wear what you like and what makes you feel great, don't worry too

Divided No More

2011-02-02T01:38:00.001-05:00

In his book Let Your Life Speak, Parker Palmer describes the "divided life" as acting on the outside in a way that contradicts some truth about yourself that you hold deeply on the inside. This way of living denies a deep part of ourselves in order to avoid punishment by society (because it is no secret that society is quick to punish folks for behaving in ways that, while true to their own

Choices, not limitations, girls!

2011-01-14T09:35:00.003-05:00

First, a caveat: what I am about to write is not a criticism of anyone but simply my perspectives and meanderings. So here's the question of the day (millennium, actually): why is it still possible that our society as a whole is so intent on making sure that women are limited to certain roles and that the "success" of a woman is measured primarily in her ability to find a husband and have

The Tyranny of the Dollar

2011-01-08T12:14:00.000-05:00

Money freaks me out. Well, really the fear of having none is what freaks me out. I suppose many of us live with a similar fear that lurks in the back regions of our consciousness. It's not really money, per se, that causes the problem because we all have to be aware, at some level, of our abilities to provide for those we love and for ourselves. These needs may be what keep us getting up in

The Light

2011-01-05T06:10:00.001-05:00

Based on: John 1:5-18 This section of John’s gospel is about God’s revelation of Himself to us. John’s text focuses on the person of Jesus, in whom the “God no one has ever seen” is made known. It is important to hold on to this notion of “seeing” as we get into this more deeply. In the Hebrew bible some have heard God speak, Moses saw the tiniest bit of the back of God’s glory, but no one has

Simple truths of parenthood

2010-11-27T10:21:00.003-05:00

Things I have learned in my 18 years as a mother: Children are a delight and a blessing. Much more so when they are sleeping. The love a parent has for a child is overpowering, overwhelming, and will cause your heart to break a thousand times before the child turns 18. Once he does, it will break hourly. The laundry is never really "done." "Clean" becomes a very subjective and

New wine

2010-09-23T10:17:00.005-04:00

Whenever I take my car to one of those "quick" oil change places it amazes me how changing the oil almost always leads to my being alerted by the mechanic of several other things that have gone wrong with my car. The cabin filter turns up filthy and needs to be changed. Then the wiper blades are noticed to be worn down....and on it goes until it feels as though everything on my car needs

Life

2010-09-21T07:47:00.000-04:00

I'm a city person at heart. I love crowded streets, tall buildings, fancy coffee, and ethnic restaurants. I love being able to shop the latest fashions and eat food from three different countries in one day if I choose. I love the way people in big cities dress and I love being able to walk wherever I need to go. I grew up in a city and being there feels like home to me. I have also come to

20 Things

2010-04-28T07:31:00.001-04:00

Things I have learned in my first year as a small town pastor: 1. Farmers are remarkably brave and faithful people. They also know how to fix just about anything. 2. People want to be loved. Period. 3. A church without a faithful, humble leader who inspires the people to grow is a church fraught with conflict and discontent and frustration. 4. Most people will not express their

No, full time ministry is not "fun."

2010-01-25T10:18:00.002-05:00

Someone asked me yesterday if it was "fun" being a pastor. My initial response was, "It's the best job ever!" And it is. But as I reflect more on the question (and answer) I have to say, "No. Ministry is not "fun." For me, being a pastor is a lot like being a parent. There are moments of brilliance when you see a glimpse of the fruit of your labor (your child holds the door for an elderly

The Goal

2009-11-23T20:12:00.005-05:00

I'm a pastor, which means there are some opinions I have which I keep to myself. I'm ok with that. I will admit, though, that I am beginning to become frustrated with the notion that the only reason Christ came was so that Christians who believe in Him would have a ticket into heaven. I don't think heaven is supposed to be our goal...if it is, why did Jesus come as a human being...frail...

Thoughts on the prodigal son....

2009-11-07T20:33:00.005-05:00

Based on: Luke 15:11-32Not all of us can relate to the Prodigal son. We may know someone like him or even have a sibling of our own who behaved like him, but I would hazard a guess that many of us are not him. We may have done some stupid things in our lives and we probably have hurt people and lost valuable things along the way, but most of us in the church did not go out and throw away

Anti-Semitism Denies the Gospel Message

2009-10-07T12:23:00.002-04:00

The concept (and practice) of anti-Semitism denies the shared heritage of both Christian and Jewish faiths and, to my mind, the very message of the Bible and work of God in the world. How can we say on one hand that we share a common faith foundation with the Jewish people and at the same time say that theirs is not a saving faith? How can Christians claim to be the sole bearers of the truth

To know the love of God

2009-09-28T19:59:00.003-04:00

Having been a non-Christian for almost 2/3 of my life, I can say with some confidence that non-Christians cannot fully know the love of God or the communion we have with God in Christ. Non-Christians can know a great deal about God, many, in fact, know more about God, the Bible, and even Jesus, than many Christians I know. Non-Christians can know the history, the beliefs, the purposes, and the

The Eucharist refutes our faith in scarcity and calls us back to faith in God.

2009-09-13T22:38:00.006-04:00

We are created and sustained through the abundance of God. Genesis 1 tells the story of creation as a story of overflowing abundance, a story of God creating light, dark, sun, stars, planets, plants, animals, food, and human beings and when He finishes each part of creation, God calls it “good.” God’s command to the first humans is “be fruitful and multiply,” a mirror of the work God has

A Brief Reflection while at the beach

2009-09-06T18:59:00.002-04:00

The beach has always been for me a place of soothing calm and peace. I feel most at home at the beach, especially in the early evening when the tourists and sunbathers have gone, the sky begins to turn various shades of pink and blue, and the sounds of the day become muted. This evening, the weather is cool and pleasant, the sand is damp and cold and the water is active. The sun is

Giving and Sacrifice

2009-08-24T13:29:00.003-04:00

As Jesus taught, he said, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have the best seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets! They devour widows’ houses and for the sake of appearance say long prayers. They will receive the greater condemnation.”He sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the crowd

Struggles with Election

2009-08-19T22:42:00.003-04:00

Based on Ephesians 1:3-14 What gets in the way?I. How difficult it is for us to believe we are beloved in spite of all our blessings.We Reformed folks struggle with the doctrine of predestination or election. We’re often embarrassed to say the word Calvinist, even though that’s the theology we profess. We struggle to believe that some have been chosen and others may not. We can’t imagine our

Who's Ministry is it Anyway?

2009-08-12T15:29:00.002-04:00

Based on John 6:31-47Why do we do the work of ministry in the church? For whom do we do it? How do we know when we have been successful and when we have failed? Who is responsible for our ministries? Who is responsible for our ministry success or our ministry failure? When we look at what we are doing in the church, how we are doing it and how we determine its worth, by what standards do we

Education as Mission

2009-08-01T20:17:00.002-04:00

“Being engaged in mission is absolutely essential to learning the gospel. ”(Norma Cook Everist)Norma Cook Everist promotes the idea that without action there is no meaningful learning. In the Bible, James writes extensively about faith and works, emphasizing that faith without works is not really faith. In the same way, learning without mission is not really learning.Just like we cannot

A man after God's own heart....

2009-08-01T18:12:00.001-04:00

2 Samuel 11:1-15For us who claim the Bible as the authoritative Word of God, this is an embarrassing story. And yet, it is told, in God’s Word, with unflinching honesty. No attempt is made to soften David’s actions or justify what happened. It tells us the story of a king, not just any king, but a king chosen and anointed by God, called “a man after God’s own heart,” who behaves in ways that