Category: God’s Love
-
Ashamed
I’ve never been as ashamed of my evangelical roots as I’ve been this past week. Although I am currently a Lutheran with fairly liberal leanings on social issues, nothing ever has been more important to me than loving God and loving my neighbors on earth as a demonstration of that love. As an infant, I…
Marian
ashamed, bullying, bullying by evangelicals, evangelical bullies, evangelicals, gay marriage, God’s love, humanitarian efforts, kindness, life challenges, listening for God, love your neighbor, personnel policy, reflections, same-sex marriage, spirituality, sponsor a child, sponsor children, talking with God, Wheaton College, World Vision -
We Laughed and Laughed and Laughed
Some of my fondest memories of my parents are of Mim and me sitting together with them around the dining room table, talking about our everyday lives, and laughing and laughing and laughing. In the 1970s and 1980s when Mim and I lived in Chicago, we drove to Wisconsin to visit my parents about once every…
Marian
All for one and one for all, Apache creation story, assisted living, be always grateful, be joyful always, Chasing Joy, Country Comforts, Country Comforts Assisted Living, Edward Hays, friends, God’s love, happy times, hospitality, invincible joy, joy, laughed, laughing, laughter, pray always, reflections, sharing joy, spirituality, talking with God, Three Musketeers -
The Blessings of Awful Stories in the Bible
There are some pretty awful stories in the Bible – like the story of Tamar in Genesis. She was a young widow who disguised herself as a temple prostitute in order to entrap her father-in-law into having sex with her so that she would have a son. Have you ever wondered why that story is…
Marian
awful Bible stories, awful stories, fairness, friends, God’s love, hard decisions, hymn sing, jail ministry, joy, kindness, life challenges, life changes, listening for God, love your neighbor, praying for each other, reflections, sharing our stories, sharing stories, singing together, spirituality, talking with God, Tamar, tough decisions, worship service -
I Have Something to Confess
I have something to confess, a sin of omission. It’s something that’s been on my mind off and on for the past sixty years. This sin of omission really weighed heavily on my conscience for the first year or two. Now it just comes to mind occasionally. It happened when I was a little girl.…
Marian
Albert Camus, atomic bomb, atomic bomb test, Bhagavad Gita, confessions, conscience, Doctor Atomic Symphony, Francois Rabelais, George Washington, God’s love, grandma, grandma’s house, guilty conscience, Hindu Bhagavad Gita, J. Robert Oppenheimer, John Adams, listening for God, Madison Symphony Orchestra, Manhattan Project, Oppenheimer, reflections, remorse, sin of omission, spirituality, Stanley Home Products, Stanley Party, Stella Lillesand, Sunday School teacher, talking with God, The Madison Symphony Orchestra -
My Thoughts on Last Weekend’s Big Event
Not the Super Bowl – Church! Last week, as I was planning music for church, I read the lectionary readings for Sunday, as I usually do. I was happy to see that two of the three readings were among my favorites. The Old Testament reading was Micah 6:1-8, which ends with the well-known verse: What…
Marian
Beatitudes, Blessed are the merciful, Blessed are the poor in spirit, emptying the ocean, fairness, God’s love, how little I understand, humble, humility, kindness, know we are Christians by our love, life challenges, Lord I Want to Be a Christian, love your neighbor, Messiah Church, Micah, Pastor Jeff, plastic bucket, reflections, spirituality, St. Augustine, The Beatitudes, walk humbly with your God -
Another Anniversary. Another Time of Joy.
This week, 25 years ago – 1989, was a pretty spectacular week. It was a week of beautiful weather, a January thaw. Mim and I were living in Chicago, on the second floor of a two-flat. Mim was teaching nursing at North Park College, and I was self-employed as a business systems consultant. But neither…
-
Happiness Engineer – One of My Favorite Job Titles
Last week I received an email from someone with the job title of “Happiness Engineer.” It made me smile. The email was from WordPress, the Internet service I use for hosting this blog. Earlier in the week I had contacted WordPress through their website to let them know that I had been charged twice on…
Marian
blogging, Dagmar Vasby, dysfunctional analyst, goals, God’s love, God-given gifts, happiness engineer, hospitality, Joan Chittister, job title, kindness, life calling, life changes, listening for God, love your neighbor, Mary Cassatt, Monastic Way, reflections, self portrait, spirituality, the Messiah, Who do you say that I am, WordPress -
Abbey, Mim & Me – Our Special Words for 2014
January is a time every year that I start thinking about how I want this year to be different from previous years. Sometimes I make New Year resolutions. Some years I formulate specific goals. Every year I come up with an immediate to-do list. At a minimum I need to plan how I’m going to…
Marian
-
Another Year-End Conversation with Abbey
Abbey had been sitting on the floor next to the patio door, staring out at the pond for a long time. It was snowing again. Big flakes were drifting down, adding to the eight inches already on the ground. I wondered if she was as tired of the snow as I was. I called to…
Marian
-
Top 10 Christmas Carols and my new favorite
What are your favorites – your top 10 Christmas carols? I made a list of mine. It was hard to stop at ten, but I did it. Then I went on the Internet to see if I could find a list of the most popular Christmas carols. Chris Wilson compiled a list of favorites for…
Marian
accomplishments, Away in a manger, Before the Marvel of this night, Christmas Carol Sing, Christmas caroling, Christmas Carols, favorite Christmas carols, God’s love, hymn sing, jail ministry, Jaroslav Vajda, listening for God, Merry Christmas, O Holy Night, reflections, Silent Night, Singing Christmas Tree, spirituality
Whispering Winds Blog 