In my church office I have two wall calendars: the usual calendar that runs January to December 2019 and a liturgical calendar that follows the seasons of the church year from the first Sunday of Advent (December 2, 2018) to the end of the church year (November 30, 2019): The liturgical calendar is a beautiful … Continue reading What is the Revised Common Lectionary? (for R who asked)
Last week on my When You Work for the Church website, I was so excited to share the cover of my next book along with the table of contents and back cover copy. Since On the Way with Jesus is a collection of sermons for Lent and Easter, I thought it might be of special … Continue reading On the Way with Jesus Bible Study
The day after I published "The Lord is My Everything: Psalm 23 in the Letter E," I received another entry in our Psalm 23 Alphabet from my friend, Joy Lenton. Joy and I are both part of the Godspace community. We both love books, dark chocolate, and great conversation. She is a former nurse from … Continue reading In All My Living and Dying Days
As I've been thinking about the Canadian federal election coming up in just two weeks, I've also been following discussions south of the border on the impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump and on choosing the next Democratic presidential candidate. I've been following the news of ongoing protests in Hong Kong, the Global Climate Strike, … Continue reading How to Pray for Government Leaders
I was so intrigued when Mel Sawatzky read his "Psalm 23 in El" at a writers' gathering, that I decided to try the exercise for myself, reflecting on the psalm and writing a paraphrase focused on a letter of the alphabet. With the help of other readers and writers, we now have a paraphrase of … Continue reading The Lord is My Everything: Psalm 23 in the Letter E
It's been 10 months since I last spoke from the pulpit at my previous church. So it seemed strangely familiar and just plain strange to be standing and speaking there last week. The pulpit seemed bigger than I remembered it. The microphone had been replaced with a different model. I felt at home yet not … Continue reading The Hardship of Death is Real, But It is Not God’s Last Word to Us
I did a double-take when I first read the title, The Radical Pursuit of Rest---isn't "pursuit" the opposite of "rest"? Author John Koessler definitely sparked my interest, and his subtitle added to the intrigue: Escaping the Productivity Trap. In his introduction, Koessler says that while his book contains practical suggestions on how we might pursue … Continue reading Enter to Win a Free Copy of The Radical Pursuit of Rest
I had been invited to lead a session on self-care for a group of ministry leaders, but my host repeatedly referred to it as a session on "soul-care." After all, the "soul" and "self" can both refer to our inner being, and in the Bible the same word may be translated as soul or inner … Continue reading 25 Self-care Ideas for the Soul: for students, ministry leaders, and everyone
