We are deep in a cold snap here in Minnesota. Today the Polar vortex is in full play. We complain a lot here about our winters. We love to point out that somewhere in the state was the coldest temperature of any given winter day. We’re proud too of our robustness and our ability to […]
For a number of years, I served a church in Winona MN, named after one of their first pastors, Dr. William McKinley. The church still had a handful of people who remembered stories parents had told them about him. He was so beloved by that earlier generation, the congregation had changed the name of […]
Martin Luther King Jr, responding to a question about, “What love is,” wrote: “Love is the greatest force in the universe. It is the heartbeat of the moral cosmos. (The one) who loves is a participant in the being of God.” (From a handwritten note, which was put on auction in 2020.) What made MLK […]
George served on the mission team in the church I belonged to before I became a pastor. Deeply concerned about world hunger, George wanted to do something that would help people get out of that entrenched poverty which leads to malnutrition. Having studied the issue for years, he decided to become an agent for change. […]
I find great comfort in the Gospel writer’s words, “The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5) These words broke through the darkness which filled my days. A time consumed by the world’s harshness, when I wondered if light would ever return. They came as a promise that […]
A friend posted this piece on Facebook a few days ago. The poem’s wisdom resonated with me, after these long years of national division and world wide pandemic, reminding me there is a time to rest, to pull back and to be kind to ourselves. *Donna Ashworth asks: “Why do we start a new year, […]
We come to the eve of 2023 having lived through three years of pandemic, political and racial upheaval. We’ve learned painfully, that some who we trusted were not deserving of our trust. We’ve discovered both the fragility of democracy and its resilience. We are a different people than we were three years ago. Wiser, less […]
A Pastor's Heart 
I have always seen that Psalm as being about the Temple or tabernacle, because of what’s in the rest of the verses. But in thinking about it some more, I remember that the tabernacle and the Temple were made with God’s specifications down to the last detail. (Like the flowers He created!) The builders made it exactly as He had instructed, which was why it was so beautiful. And I believe God sees true beauty in obedient servants, whatever things large or small we do to serve Him. HE is what makes any place beautiful, and when we are in the center of His will, we are, too. ❤
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Thanks for your reflection. The words popped into my mind as I was thinking of day I had spent at an Arboretum, with all the beautiful flowers and blossoms around me.
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I love the way Scripture pops into our minds in unexpected but appropriate places. 🙂 ❤
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Wow I like this message.
You see I think if we meditate on this powerful scripture we get a glimpse too .
I recall Jacob making a similar remark Gen 28:17
New Living Translation
But he was also afraid and said, “What an awesome place this is! It is none other than the house of God, the very gateway to heaven!”
I think there are moments when you can sense the presence or His aura but you feel like its just a glimpse, then you think how excellent is actually His dwelling place.
The answer we will be looking for is, “There is more from where its coming from”
Great work!
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Thanks for your reflection on this piece. I believe there are places made sacred by the prayers of God’s people. Certainly, places of joy and praise are among them.
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