In my thirties and forties, I remember encouraging others to start preparing for their retirement, not just financially, but mentally and spiritually. Everyone ages, but not everyone ages with grace. You can’t expect to reach sixty or seventy or eighty, and become magically gracious, kind, loving and wise, if you never practiced any of these […]
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“Grass doesn’t grow on a busy street!” Or so the cliché goes in regards to bald heads. The image of grass growing on a bald head has been stuck in my head this week as I reflected on Psalm 129. Psalm 129 Psalm 129 is composed of two sections. The first is a message of […]
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What do you worship? What hidden idols exist in your life? Idols crop up everywhere. Throughout history they take new forms. God has hard-wired for worship. Often we are misled into seeking out false idols to fill that need for worship. Our idols may not be images of silver and gold, but may be silver, […]
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I try to be aware of what is going on in the world. We are not meant to live our lives in isolation from the problems on earth and the needs of others. And so I listen to the news and read online articles about the latest hot spot and crisis. I try to be […]
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There are days I feel like a worn-out piece of clothing, worse for wear but not ready to be thrown away just yet. Like everyone and everything on this earth, I am getting older and with that territory comes a certain amount of wear and tear. I struggle with indigestion, me, whose favorite lunch used […]
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“O Lord, God of vengeance, God of vengeance, shine forth!” (94:1) So begins Psalm 94, but what is this vengeance? Is God’s vengeance the same as human vengeance? Psalm 94 Psalm 94 is a lament in two parts. The first fifteen verses comprise a lament of the community against evildoers who oppress the most vulnerable […]
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It used to be that Amazing Grace was the “go to” hymn for funerals. The strains of the music started and that was the cue for tears to start. That distinction now belongs to the hymn, On Eagle’s Wings. It seems I hear it at every Memorial Service or funeral I attend. Based on Psalm […]
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Right now, hiding under God’s wings and staying there until spring sounds like a great idea. The bitter cold and snow we are experiencing in the Midwest puts me into hibernation mode. I’m craving carbs to put on layers of fat to keep me warm! Not a good place to be. Under God’s wings, however, […]
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God, the tear catcher! Another image of God from Scripture. There are many images of God found in the Bible, including father, mother, spirit, way, truth, light, gate, gatekeeper, lion, eagle, mother hen, shepherd. The list goes on. Now, thanks to Psalm 56, I have another image for God, the tear catcher. Psalm 56 Psalm […]
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Who are the pariahs of our times? Who do we run from? Perhaps victims of AIDS who are considered unclean? Perhaps those disfigured by war that we don’t want to look at because it upsets us? Or stroke survivors who struggle to create a new normal after the debilitating effects of this attack on their […]
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