I’ll admit it: I’ve fallen asleep at church. When you’ve heard a story told so many times, it can lose its punch. Recently, my church has been going through the book of Mark. I thought for sure I would doze off at least once or twice, but instead I’ve found myself gaining new insights. That’s…
The Earth is the Lord’s, And the fullness thereof; The world, and they that dwell therein. For he hath founded it upon the seas, And established it upon the floods. Psalm 24:1&2 A Psalm of David. The sirens’ call of the ocean began when I was a toddler seeing the Pacific for the first time.…
Reinforcements wade ashore at Saipan, June 1944 Today marks the seventy-fifth anniversary of a momentous occasion. When the Emperor of Japan announced his nation’s surrender on August 15, 1945, the deadliest war in history finally drew to a close. And yet, given the challenges we face in the here and now, I am concerned this…
How to deal with the perpetual uncertainty of 2020? We know how it’s been dealing with us—economic upheaval and a deadly virus like the devil in 1 Peter 5:8, who “prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” This is all compounded by the daily indignities of quarantine, masking, and social distancing, lest…
These are the last few days of July, and it feels like this has been the oddest summer ever. Nothing seems in its right place. I’m working from home, the kids’ plans have all been canceled, and we haven’t been inside a restaurant in over three months. Our summers usually have a well-defined start and…
Wither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall…
I taught at Pacific Lutheran University for 35 years. A few years in, I committed myself to dedicate the first five minutes of each class to telling my students a story about God’s work in my life. I would tell my students that while the technical material we were going to cover in class is…
[Janalyn Voigt] Tasting History: Most Popular Cookie of the 1920s
The 1920s started as an era of prosperity and ended with the stock market crash that precipitated the Great Depression. This decade brought both Prohibition and repeal. Women gained the right to vote. Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis, and other “lost generation” expatriate writers composed classic literature in Europe. Young women ditched corsets…
Read More