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Garden Guilt
Friday I worked hard. I was inspired by all the yard work some special guests did for us a week ago. Thanks, Mike and Sherrie! They spent a long weekend tackling the outside jobs I never seem to get done. Keeping up a three-acre yard takes more than three hours of lawn mowing every week…
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The Beauty of Nature – Does it Remind You of God?
Last week God drew my attention to the beauty in nature – in order to draw my attention back to God. What prompted all this mental and spiritual activity? It was the following passage in the devotional book Jesus Calling: My world is filled with beautiful things; they are meant to be pointers to Me, reminders…
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How do you talk with God?
That’s something I’ve been trying to learn ever since I was a little kid. I remember the first prayer I ever learned: “God bless our food. Amen.” I said that prayer and then my brother and sister said the Norwegian table prayer, and then we could eat. My mother never had the patience to teach…
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Remembering My Mom – and Yesterday’s Sermon – on Memorial Day
My earliest memory of Memorial Day is going to the cemetery with my mom to put flowers on the graves of my grandparents. I remember asking her, “Why are we putting flowers on their graves? They weren’t soldiers.” And she responded, “Memorial Day is for remembering everyone we love who has died.” With that conversation…
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Being Thankful Today – not just on Thanksgiving
Today’s about as far from Thanksgiving as you can be in a year, but I want to talk about being thankful anyway. Being thankful was on my mind a lot last week. On Thursday, I went to the county jail again to play the piano for the women inmate’s worship service. During the testimony time,…
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Upcoming Retreat at Whispering Winds: “Wrinkles Don’t Hurt”
Guest blog post by Pastor and Spiritual Director Joan Gunderman It is not difficult to talk and joke with friends about growing old, but how often do we have conversations with others about meaning, where we can honestly share our wisdom and peace, our fears and doubts, our faith, and the unique humor that comes…
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Am I really defined by my possessions?
Several days ago Mim learned about the need for a $2,300 repair on her 2003 Toyota Matrix. We briefly considered whether or not it was getting to be time to replace the car, and quickly concluded that now is not the time for us to pay for a new car. Today I hope to clean…
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Summer Small Group Opportunities at Whispering Winds… Starting this month!
Joan Gunderman will be leading two small groups at Whispering Winds this summer. I asked her to tell us about these groups in today’s blog post. “Great Reads” 3rd Mondays, May-October, 7:00-8:30 p.m. Are you someone who enjoys discussing a good book with others who have read it, too? You’ll have a series…
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A Voice from the Past
“Good night, Vince.” “Night, Mare.” Then Vince would burst out laughing. That was our end-of-the-workday ritual every day for about a year in the mid-1970’s. Nobody called me “Mare” except Vince. And he called me that only at the end of the day, just so he could say “nightmare” to me as a goodnight “blessing”…
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True Happiness – According to Abbey
Last Thursday my dog Abbey received a gift certificate. That prompted quite a conversation between Abbey and me about happiness and purpose in our lives. I recorded the conversation below. It all started with with me saying, “My, you’re looking happy today, Abbey. The happiest you have looked in weeks.” Abbey responded with, “I am happy. Did…
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Taking Time to be still and listen for God
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