Recently, I was having a conversation with my daughter about what she wants to be when she’s “grown up.” For some reason, something so obvious struck a chord within me that I want to share my realization if nothing more than to serve as a reminder to my readers.
Long-distance runners refer to a state of being called runner’s high. This condition is marked by a mild euphoria and temporary relief from the normal effects of running: heavy breathing...
I’m sitting on the couch in the apartment my new husband and I share as I write this. On the top shelf of the built-ins in our living room is a piece of driftwood. While living as a...
In family ministry, different ages matter. Kids who are younger need more tangible lessons, but as kids get older, the modes of teaching them can change too. They don’t need the most...
Alongside wedding dresses, flowers, and many other beautiful accessories, music selections for the wedding day can serve as a reflection of the deeply meaningful theology of marriage....
What I wrote in the first post in this series about the clear passages of Scripture helping us read the more challenging ones is not just a general statement. It really is true that some...
I learned what dependence looks like a few years ago when I decided to bring my two kids under age 2 to story time at the library. It all went fine until the last few minutes when the...
It is especially to be noted here that Christ, the Son of God, who is holier than Baptism itself, nevertheless has Himself baptized and further enjoins that this Baptism be continued in...
Prayer is one of the fundamental actions of every Christian. At its most basic, prayer is talking with God. God invites us to talk with Him, to let Him know what is on our minds and...
The joy and rewards gained from becoming a Lutheran school teacher cannot be counted. Each day is filled with joy upon joy. Did you teach Sunday School or volunteer at Vacation Bible...
This dynamic organ collection, Reformation Prisms, launches Matthew Machemer’s new Prisms series, presenting bold, stimulating, and highly playable settings of six cornerstone hymns of...
It’s easy to take good things for granted, especially things that are fixtures in our lives. Take something as ubiquitous as one’s church community: In the back of your mind, you know...
There are certain things everyone expects to see or hear on Reformation Day: bright red colors, the hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God,” and a sermon expounding the Law and Gospel that...
It doesn’t take much to look out at the world and see that evil exists. From small lies to war-torn countries, there is a plethora of evidence to showcase how broken our world is. As...
Funerals can be a challenging time, and it makes sense that there is grief. God didn’t build us to die; He created with the intention that Adam and Eve would live forever in perfect...
Children’s hymnals are a valuable part of any Christian educator’s classroom. Since 202o, One and All Rejoice (OAR), a robust children’s hymnal specifically for elementary-age students,...
This series of blog posts covers Bible passages every Lutheran should know. The idea is simple: Our faith is eminently biblically based, but we also recognize that some parts of the Bible...
Guidance is needed both on what Scripture says about divorce and remarriage, and on how this should be applied to cases that arise. That is, guidance is needed both on the principles and...
“You just have to have enough faith.” At first glance, this may sound like good and pious advice. Someone you know may be struggling to make ends meet. He has a bill to pay, but he can’t...
On one hand, the question of how we, as Lutherans, should teach our children the distinction between justification and sanctification is a simple one with a simple answer: To teach such a...
Jacob B. Weber’s Lord, Thee I Love: Partita on “Herzlich lieb” offers a wide‑ranging and thoughtfully crafted exploration of the cherished hymn “Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart.”...
