The other day at the gym, I sat down at a machine and immediately realized something was off. The settings had been left exactly where the previous person needed them. But my legs didn’t fit. So I stopped and made some adjustments. It wasn’t a particularly dramatic moment. But something… Continue reading
Easter 7a (John 17:1-11) As Jesus anticipates what is about to happen and is aware that their world is about to change, he takes one more opportunity to pray that this relationship they have had with him will continue to infuse the relationship they have with each other. Can you… Continue reading
There’s a word in Swahili that I resonate with: vumilia. It basically means “persevere.”But the way my dad used to translate it is, keep on keeping on—which feels a little different than “just hang in there.” It’s less about barely making it through,and more about a steady, grounded choosing to continue. I’ve… Continue reading
My first two experiences in this year of Cultivating Delight weren’t dramatic or adventurous. They didn’t require travel or planning or courage in the way we often think about courage. But they asked something deeper of me. They asked me to challenge a story I’ve been carrying for a long time. A… Continue reading
This year, as I approach a birthday, I’m choosing a different kind of journey—not a list of goals, but a rhythm of living intentionally. I want to cultivate delight. To notice the small and the extraordinary. To create, to explore, to stretch, and to rest. To trust that what I… Continue reading
Again and again, Jesus enters the messy places of human life—the places of suffering, confusion, and unanswered questions—and he begins the slow work of restoration… How different might this man’s experience have been if the people around him had listened with curiosity instead of suspicion? What if they gave him… Continue reading
This is one of the truths the gospel keeps revealing. The places we think of as wilderness—the places of isolation, uncertainty, or shame—are often the very places where God meets us most honestly. March 8, 2026 (Lent 3A; John 4:7-29, Kildonan Community Church) There are seasons in life when we… Continue reading
This Lent, I’ve been reflecting on the Gospel stories where God encounters people in wilderness places—those in-between spaces where something new has not yet fully emerged. As I consider both my own wilderness seasons and the one the church seems to be navigating, I’m trying to resist the instinct to… Continue reading
And in that space, Jesus expands his imagination: God’s love is not narrow or conditional. It is wide. It is generous. It is for the world. We often interpret in-between seasons as examinations. Prove your faith.Prove your devotion.Prove you’re growing. But Lent is less about proving something and more about… Continue reading
We know what it’s like to be in the wilderness and experience the temptation to question our baptismal identity. We know what that’s like…and it’s not fun. It leaves us famished and exhausted. Matthew 4:1-11 (Lent 1A. Diaconal Sunday, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church) I have to admit that when I… Continue reading