This writing refers to two pieces of legislation recently supported and signed into law by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds. Senate File 538 prohibits medical personnel from providing gender-altering treatment for minors even if they have their parents’ permission. Senate File 482 requires transgender youth to use bathrooms and locker rooms that align with their biology at birth, providing separate facilities only with parents’ permission. … Continue reading What if…?
I sat on one of the folding chairs lining the mini-gym at the Y on a Saturday morning in January. First and second grade boys were earnestly enacting their version of basketball, my grandson among them. They’re not bad, considering their age. The leniency about traveling violations and a rule against stealing the ball enable them to enjoy the game as aggressively as their little … Continue reading Blood Connections
“I want it to go faster!” I told God in frustration, on a cold and wet day in Minnesota. I was driving our family van to my sister’s apartment after class. My outburst was not about the traffic that day. I was slogging my way through what would turn out to be eight years of study in seminary. I was attending part time because I … Continue reading My Times are in Your Hands
I’m not fond of this season. The yard displays, the masks, the gore, so much creepiness on TV. Think of what it is teaching our children. I’m not talking about Halloween. It’s mid-term election season. These days elections seem to bring out the worst in human behavior. And it’s not just “those people.” I find myself arguing with campaign commercials, or making snap judgments about … Continue reading Grace for a Scary Season
The word “Sabbath” calls up lots of ideas and feelings for different people. As I grew up, we were expected to observe it strictly, with no unnecessary work and no homework done on Sundays. We could not patronize a swimming pool or a restaurant, because that would require other people to violate the Sabbath as they served us. This was not altogether a negative thing. … Continue reading Life-Giving Sabbath
Wendell Berry, dubbed the “Poet Farmer,” has spent countless hours walking through the fields and woods of his property, writing about the wonder of nature and the stories that the land would recount if it could use our language. Any farmer or gardener can identify with his delight in the process of “dead” seeds springing to life and morphing into crops, flowers and trees. It … Continue reading Practice Resurrection
Revelation 3:8 has been my go-to verse for a couple of years now. It leapt off the page of my Bible one day and has held a place in my awareness. It urges me to keep looking, to see how big God is and all the ways the Great Love manifests in the world around me. It is God’s invitation to keep seeking new ways … Continue reading Open, Open, Open
This morning I heard the story of David and Goliath on the wonderful app Pray as You Go. It seems obvious that the corona virus is the Goliath we need to slay. We have been using our best weapons against it. But what has been happening in the ranks? Argument over strategy. Polarization. Broken trust. I am reminded of the Scripture that tells us not … Continue reading Smooth Stones
What is the heft of a quiet life that her grandchildren carry today? More than the weight of a mother and wife as they solemnly march to her grave. They bear the imprint of soft, storied arms from her lifelong earnest art honed by the tasks of family and farm and a gentle, loving heart. Heavy their hearts as the memories gel and the tears … Continue reading Pallbearing
“Do not underestimate the thrill of trying.” –Julia Cameron Mixed media art has always captivated me. I marvel at the imagination and creativity of those who bring together a variety of elements to interact and cohere to stimulate the viewer with the outcome. A bird rests on a torn edge of newsprint, and its song breaks into my thoughts. A disembodied hand offers a … Continue reading The Energizing Flow of Creativity
saint sinner seeker 