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The Journey...

4/11/2020

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​Holy week has arrived. I love Easter and all that is involved in the build up to the tomb. In this short week, Jesus rides a donkey like a king, basking in the adoration of the crowds who shout Hosanna, he feels the brutality of the mob yelling crucify him and finally he celebrates his resurrection from the tomb. This week is simply my favorite holy time in the life of Jesus and how the grace of what he accomplished on the cross has changed my life. 

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Radical Whoever...

5/7/2019

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Will the war of words ever stop? Criticisms abound in the rhetoric of politics, fights over building walls, spewing out words of discrimination against skin color and righteous indignation over who has the “right” interpretation of the Bible. Christians all over the world proclaim stories about God’s love and forgiveness and their personal relationship with God.  Other stories infiltrate news and social media regarding the decline of church attendance because people are turned off by the divisive words and actions by people of faith.  A familiar sight around ball games, stamped under player’s eyes and splashed on billboards around the country is a go-to the biblical verse of John 3:16. Are you familiar with the words, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Like many children, who attended Sunday school, I had to memorize and recite these words throughout my childhood. This verse is so familiar to most of us that it might be easy to gloss over its radical meaning.  It says “whoever” believes in Jesus, will be with God through eternity.”  It does not say, whoever is from a certain denomination, religious affiliation, a certain color or creed, or with the correct interpretation of the Bible gets a free pass into the kingdom.  It might come as a shock that with that one word, whoever, God is going to great lengths to spend forever with us. These familiar words are not about what we have to do to earn grace and mercy. It is God’s free gift to us!

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I Am Healed... Mark 5:21-34

3/28/2019

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“He’s back!” “The man Jesus has returned from across the sea!” shouted the boy.  Before he could fade into the crowd, I asked him, “Who is Jesus?” He turned to me with a look of disbelief and yelled over the noisy crowd, “Haven’t you heard of the man who heals the sick, help the blind to see and the lame to walk?” Before I could ask more, the boy was lost into the growing crowd.  Just then my neighbor passes in front of me so in my excitement I grab her arm to ask her about this man called Jesus. She looked at me with disdain and pulled away saying, “Get away from me,” the woman said, “You are unclean so do not touch me.” I shied away from her hoping that nobody heard what she had said. I am so weary of not fitting in and being an outcast from family and friends. The doctors have not been able to stop the bleeding and now I am penniless. Caught up in the frenzy of the crowd, I jostle along with the mass and suddenly the crowd stops so quickly I stumble to the ground. As I try to stand, I see a richly dressed rabbi drop to his knees, looking up towards a man and begging, “Jesus, please have mercy on me. My daughter is dying and she needs your help.” As he speaks, I see the man standing in front of me reaching out his hand to help the teacher stand. The healer’s eyes were filled with compassion as he nodded his agreement to follow him and heal the girl. The people around him did not allow him to move because they too were desperate and begging for his healing touch. Instantly I felt the same desire for his healing power. Before he moved away I reached out to touch the hem of his cloak. With the crowd demanding his attention I didn’t think he would notice my touch. When the cloth was in my hand, I felt a healing power so great I couldn’t move. In an instant, I knew the bleeding had stopped and I was healed. I let go of his cloak and just sat on the ground in the middle of the impatient crowd stunned by what had happened. Then I heard these words, “Who touched me?” What? Who touched him? He couldn’t know, could he? I stayed still so he would not notice me. His followers scoffed and explained that with a crowd of this proportion any number of people could have touched him.  Jesus continued to scan the crowd as he slowly turned to me waiting. He knew!  How could he know it was me? With great caution, I glanced up to his face.  His eyes were not filled with horror or disdain but with love. Then he smiled at me.  His patient waiting gave me the courage to confess my story. Through my tears, I told him about my 12- year struggle with a blood disorder and how the doctors could not help me and how I knew he was my last hope of healing. The people near me gasped and slowly moved away afraid to be so close to an unclean person.  I should be used to it by now but I can never get away from my old friend “shame,” which makes my whole body sag under its weight. The man, Jesus squatted down to me and grabbed my hand to help me to my feet. Then he said the words I will never forget, “Daughter, your faith has made you will; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.” With a slight bow to me, he turned to follow the anxious rabbi to his home to heal his daughter. There I stood in a crowd of people feeling free for the first time in years. I was healed! I started to dance and shout, “I am healed!” “Do you hear me? Jesus healed me!”  I realized then what a gift he had given me. Not only was I healed in body but also I was restored to my community. No longer will I be shunned and called unclean! I am free from the disease that has held me captive for so long. Shame will no longer have a grip on my life! I can dance and laugh and even giggle like a child. I am healed!!
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Names..

1/8/2019

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Tigers are my favorite animals. I am attracted to their colors, elegant movements and the fierceness in the way they protect their territory, whether it is the land they hunt or their family. They are built for power and are a symbol of strength and courage. Oh and yes there is no distinction between male and female in their color or demeanor. Both are just as fierce and dominant, which makes them an equal opportunity couple. Recently, I completed a jigsaw puzzle of a close-up photo of a tiger’s face. It was one of the most difficult 1000-piece puzzles I have ever done as well as the most beautiful. It took true persistence for me to finish it. Many times I walked away and threatened to quit. However I persisted! Weeks after finishing it, I decided to glue it together to create a work of art to hang on my wall. As I write this blog, I am looking into her eyes and the courage hiding deep within their depths. I believe this courage is one of the reasons why I am so drawn to this animal.

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Casting Stones...

10/30/2018

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This has been a week for taking deep breaths! Terrible news was reported from throughout much of the country. There were pipe bombs sent to fourteen political leaders including a former president of the United States, two people were killed in racially motivated shooting at a Kroger store and eleven people were killed in a hate crime as they celebrated Sabbath at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. Those are three of the highlights or should I say the low lights of the week. Sometimes it feels like evil is winning. Again… Breathe! My heart hurts from all of the needless rhetoric, hate speech and the taking of human lives. We continue to hurt others by our words, they way we judge people as we remain uncompromising in our opinions.

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See the Father...

9/11/2018

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Every person has a different image of who they believe God to be. Some name God as Universe or Higher Power and for Christians, there are numerous biblical titles like, Lord, Christ, Shepherd, Vine, Rock, Savior and so on… Each name speaks to us based on the lens of life experiences or relationships. There are a number of people who confess that their image of God can get confused with an important authority figure such a father or mother. That certainly is true in my case. My past relationship with my dad has influenced my view of God. My lens has been one of fear, reverence, discipline and punishment. It is one of the reasons I love to read the gospels because Jesus is much more lovable and reachable figure. Jesus called God his Father so it is not much of a stretch that we would also see God that way and relate to Him in the same way. I totally understand that there are many people who do not have a loving parental relationship and cannot identify the same loving relationship as Jesus did with His Father.

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Do You See?....

7/24/2018

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There are times when moms can learn from their children and recently it was my turn for a life lesson. My daughter Sara and I chat almost every morning on her way to work about all sorts of things like our jobs or life and of course my beautiful grand girls.  Last week as we discussed our weekend plans she mentioned that she had volunteered to babysit her friend Jane’s three children so that she could visit her father, who is in the Intensive Care Unit three hours away. Sara told me that she had offered to babysit for her friend as she could only imagine how difficult it was for Jane to not be able to visit her ailing parent. Having three young children, two with special needs, her friend said it was difficult to find anyone to care for her children. That is until Sara. This daughter of mine is someone who “sees” people. She often notices when people are in distress or have a need and finds ways to help them without prejudice. When she was in kindergarten she came home from school without her gloves. Let me just say that it was winter in MN with very cold temps and typical deep snow on the ground. When I asked her what happened to her gloves, Sara said she gave them to her little friend because he didn’t have gloves and his hands were cold. When I mentioned that I was concerned about her hands being cold, she just shrugged and said he needed them more. This story gives you a glimpse of who Sara is as a person.  

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Be So Bold...

7/17/2018

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These past few weeks it seems like I have been on an emotional roller coaster starting with my brother’s death, the chaos at the Mexican border and the rescue of the Thailand soccer team and their coach. Whew! Even though my family knew that brother Virgil was not going to make it, when it happened, it took some time to work through it with my family and friends. In the midst of mourning his death, I have been trying to grasp and process the immigration situation at the Mexican border. It has taken some time for the scene to play out and for me to finally focus on the how I feel about what it would mean to have my children taken from me without the knowledge of when I would see them again. Then finally the cave rescue of the twelve soccer players and their coach was the climax to any emotions that I had left.
Being so emotionally connected to the lives involved in these stories can be raw and unsettling. It feels like I am a bit late to the game because it has taken me a while to process my emotions however here are some of my thoughts about these stories.

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Meeting at the Well...

4/17/2018

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My friend Beth texted me a picture of the Samaritan Woman and Jesus talking at the well that she found in her great-grandmother’s Bible. She knows how much I love this story and respect the woman’s courage to speak up for herself and for her people. This portrait, by Anton Laurids Johannes Dorph, depicts a conversation between two unlikely people and is one that I have not seen before. It is rich with meaning and begs to me to unpack some of the imagery surrounding this uncharacteristic meeting at the well.

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Risen Indeed...

4/10/2018

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We have reached the end of another Lenten season. We have walked with Jesus through the holiest of weeks of Jesus’ betrayal, denial, brutality and pain and celebrated or rather rejoiced at the empty tomb with his disciples. Jesus Is Risen! In case you hadn’t noticed, Easter is my absolute favorite time or holiday or Sunday of the year. The word triumphant echoes in my brain as I celebrate Christ’s victory over sin and death. My victory of over sin and death even though I am not worthy to claim it! 

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    Denise seeks to empower people to live into their true potential...
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