The Power of Three
Three deaths. Three funerals. Three weeks. A trinity of holy. 35 years old. Husband. Father of three. Killed in a car crash. 62 years old. Friend. Sister of one of my best friends. Heart attack. 88 years old. Ministry partner for years. So how can such suffering, so close together, be holy? All are grieving, […]
Empty? Full? Which Do You Want?
The build up to Easter is over. His death. His resurrection. His leaving the tomb. The empty tomb. The reason for rejoicing. And yet, we still deal with empty. Don’t we? We’re constantly running around trying to fill ourselves up. Aren’t we? Power. Acceptance. Comfort. Control. We all know EMPTY, don’t we? Alive […]
Terrier Terror and What We Have In Common With Dogs
Instinct. That’s what it is—the reason why our little terrier pup scared me by running off into the wild blue yonder after that rabbit. Downright ignored the red bell. And the shaking salami container. Why? Because Baker just had to. Because that’s what dogs do. They follow their nose. Instinct. That’s what drives us all, […]
A FAREWELL FOR JO (AND THE HOPE FOR US ALL)
My dear friend Nancy, my neighbor, lost her sister Jo Monday night. 62 years old. Vibrant wife, mother, grandmother, sister, friend. Heart attack. Alive in the morning. Gone by night. There’s agony here around this farm, this Holy Week, as we march to Maundy Thursday, the day our Lord wept in a garden as he […]
In the Wake of Super Tuesday (and How to Know Which Direction to Go in Life and Elections)
There’s a hard wind blowing here on the farm straight out of the west. I walk east to the barn and am swept along by powerful invisible. Time to set out the grain. Time to throw out the hay. Time to clean the barn. As our horses eat, I reach for the fork and […]
Parasitic Sickness and How to Heal
We can grow accustomed to sin without realizing we’re starving our souls. “I want you to check for intestinal parasites,” I told their pediatrician. “They don’t have parasites. They don’t show any symptoms. Perhaps they’re underweight because they haven’t been fed enough.” Their doctor seemed certain. I doubted. “I want them tested anyway. We adopted […]
When You Feel Like The Edges Of Your Life Are Crumbling And You Need Solid Anchors
I stood on the edge of a cliff wondering whether the rock would hold me if I ventured too far to the edge. From my high vantage point, I could see the vast array of autumn colors and the large lake down below—Devil’s Lake. I saw men and women with ropes anchored in rock, thrown […]
Some Thoughts on Dying When You Feel Like It and the Hope That Stops You
It is late September. The sugar maple is tinged with fire, a burning mix of orange and red and yellow, engulfing the green. Honking Vs of geese fly over the barn. One yellowed leaf curls on the grass. Three Sandhill cranes lift off alfalfa field, warbling their way into the air, a trinity created by […]
True Compassion That Helps The Hurting
O, Lord, the grieving are many! A wayward son, now beyond what the family can help. Another son can’t shake the depression but won’t take his medicine. Another son runs away from home leaving parents worried without information on his whereabouts. A husband gone to another woman’s bed, leaving his wife and young children […]
When Black and White Mix With God, What Happens?
When worlds collide, what happens? Things can get ugly, even deadly, quickly. Then again . . . When worlds collide, what happens? God’s kingdom can expand. Last week, black met white as we marked our 8th annual Nature Camp here on our 44 acres of country. Long before we moved to this farm, we drove […]
Faith, Not Feelings (and sometimes some medication)
I’ll be real here. I was struggling with feelings the past two days. Ever been there? After a week of pretty much nonstop caring for two injured kids on pain meds and doing all the farm chores they usually do but can’t, I’m tired. Despite my best efforts to pray, coach myself with scripture, exercise, […]
Connection with God and Others
She opens a spiral notebook and shows me a cross she drew. I saw her pain on the page. Not like she fell apart or anything. No one would ever know. I’ve known her for a long time, but I’ve not really known her. It’s just that when one has been hurt so deeply for […]