Inside the Minds of Valerie and Mike (and Anna)
That was the question put to me recently by my pastor. My initial answer…I didn’t know. Words were, are, failing me at this moment. Of course the question and answers simmered after we hung up. The short answer would be the good, the bad, the ugly, the beautiful. At the moment, do I have a... Continue Reading →
Last year, Advent started with a weekend retreat focused on choosing hope, peace, joy, love, and life. It truly was life-giving even if it was a full and tiring weekend; and it carried into the whole season. This year, Advent carries some weight of Lent. Maybe that Lenten feeling is connected to a realization from... Continue Reading →
A couple of weeks ago, I listened to a podcast episode titled “What Are We Doing and Why Are We Doing It?” This podcast is an ELCA Youth Ministry Network creation. You can listen to it here, https://www.elcaymnet.org/3tcepisode11. In this particular episode, while the focus was on youth ministry, the topic really applies to the... Continue Reading →
The bright yellow caught my eye and changed my plans. I decided I could use a distraction. Someone had left a yellow gerbera daisy in a small vase at the center of the labyrinth. So I stopped and decided to walk the labyrinth, something I haven’t done in a while. But I wasn’t 2 steps onto... Continue Reading →
I recently read a sermon in which the author stated that they “prefer to look at the church as a symphony or a tapestry”. While I can appreciate the idea of being a piece of a bigger artwork, I can’t embrace that the analogy of the church as a tapestry or a symphony, and I’ll... Continue Reading →
My mind is spinning with thoughts as questions from a Facebook post asking about a Gospel reading collided with a book I’m reading about how habits form, become entrenched, and change. In Mark 8:27-37, Jesus is asking his disciples who do people say that he, Jesus, is and then asks his disciples who do they... Continue Reading →
I had heard that the Gathering was big. I knew 30,000 was the typical attendance. I had heard of the energy that emanated from it, especially from the Mass Gatherings. I saw the Facebook posts suggesting getting ear plugs. And let’s not forget that this was Houston at the end of June…so, it was going... Continue Reading →
Maybe your initial reaction is "how cute, a page full of hearts." But it's not. Look at it again. I started with the big question mark in the middle. I had just listened to a podcast that had proposed some questions to consider in order to answer an original question. It set my mind and... Continue Reading →
Last weekend I added another single thread to a Network of 954 other threads. I'm not sure why or how the image of connected threads came about before the weekend, but it did. https://vmwishes.com/2018/01/24/a-single-flame-a-single-thread/ Over the course of 4 full days, 955 of us who are involved in children, youth, and family ministry gathered to... Continue Reading →
When one feels so small and little, when it seems one isn’t enough for any impact, when a single flame seems to only be able to cast light out a few inches (look up foot candle), and when a single thread seems to be able to hold so little and offer little strength… Multiply that... Continue Reading →
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