Category: Music
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Imagine you have just been arrested! Now what?
Imagine you have just been arrested – for a crime that you may or may not have committed. Your life has suddenly been put on hold – for who knows how long. You may have small children at home. Who will care for them? You may have a job. What will happen to that? Think…
Marian
arrested, Backyard Mosaic, Backyard Mosaic Women’s Project, Chance Allies, change in my life, chapel, chaplain, concert, Dane County, Dane County Jail, David Allen, fundraiser, fundraising concerts, God’s love, humility, inmate stories, inmates, jail, jail chapel, jail ministry, Jazz for Jail, Jazz for the Jail, John Mix, Julia Weaver, life challenges, life changes, listening for God, Lucas Koehler, Lutheran Churches, Madison Area Lutheran Council, MALC, Maria’s story, Messiah Church, Messiah Lutheran Church, mistakes, pencil, silent auction, Tisha Brown, white collar crime -
My Grade on Giving up Hurry for Lent
On Easter Abbey spent about an hour out on our deck, watching two geese float back and forth on the pond. She said to me, “Mom, did you notice that two of our geese have finally come back home? Two years ago they were here at the beginning of Lent. This year they didn’t come…
Marian
Abbey, Alan Fadling, An Unhurried Life, bonfire, Easter, Easter hymn, Easter Vigil, Edward Hays, Exultet, geese, giving up hurry for Lent, God’s love, hidden joys, hurry, hurrying, Jesus Christ is Risen Today, Jesus’ rhythms of work and rest, Lent, life challenges, listening for God, love your neighbor, Messiah Church, Messiah Lutheran Church, nature, pillars of fire, Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim, reflections, spirituality, talking with God, The Good Samaritan -
Flipping Patterns
One of my favorite stories that my mom used to tell is about when she was trying to make a dress. She laid out the fabric on the table and pinned the pattern to the fabric. She carefully cut out each piece, but she was having trouble with the dress sleeves. She kept getting two…
Marian
confirmation, Edward Hays, Elsie Korth, God’s love, keeping company with God, listening for God, Lord’s Prayer, Nancy Kornelsen, Our Father, patterns, Philip Yancey, piano prayer, prayer, prayer patterns, Prayers for a Planetary Pilgrim, reflections, spirituality, structured prayer, talking with God, The Lord’s Prayer -
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 -
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 -
A Christmas Letter from Abbey
This morning as I was sitting at my desk Abbey came over to me and sat down. “Mom,” she said. “I have a favor to ask.” “What’s that?” I responded. “Will you help me write a Christmas letter to send to all my friends? I don’t have fingers like you have, and it’s really hard…
Marian
Abbey, aging, assisted living, Christmas Carols, Christmas catalogs, Christmas Letter, Christmas shopping, Christmas Spirit, Edith Sinclair Downing, friends, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, God’s love, Heifer International, Holiday Hounds, If I fly as birds at dawning, Laurie Loughlin, life changes, love your neighbor, reflections, spirituality, wisdom, World Vision -
Delicious Solitude
During the month of October, the daily reflections in The Monastic Way pamphlet by Joan Chittister were on the theme of “Delicious Solitude.” I loved those reflections! Here’s a sampling. October 1: Solitude, like black olives, is an acquired taste. But once it touches the soul it is the only place where we can come to…
Marian
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Remembering the Saints – the most significant people in my life who are now dead
Thursday of this week is Halloween, the eve of All Saints Day. On Sunday, some churches will read a list of members of the congregation who have died over the past year. This is a time of year to remember the people who are no longer with us who have been significant to us…
Marian
All Saints Day, Aunt Edith, Auntie Emma, Bill Leslie, change in my life, christmas, church organist, daily devotions, Edith Kenseth, Eileen Scott, Emma Prescott, family reunion, friends, God’s love, God-given gifts, Gospel pianist, Halloween, Helen Knoblauch, kindness, Marion Gilberts, Mark Hjermstad, Mary Borgerud, Mom’s love, Mother’s love, Nancy Kornelsen, reflections, Royal Bailie, saints, Selma Jacobson, significant people in my life, thankful, thankfulness, Thanksgiving
Whispering Winds Blog 