Hope, dignity and love
Living Faithfully

Hope, dignity and love

The four “grandmas” playing pinochle grinned when Elson Daniels ran to their card table. Seated in a cozy living room overlooking a snow-covered courtyard in Billings, Mont., they greeted the…

Honest speech and action with kids
Living Faithfully

Honest speech and action with kids

There are so many things that are hard to talk about with children. Their questions never end, no matter how hard we try to put them off. And sometimes our…

Celebrating diversity
Living Faithfully

Celebrating diversity

How can we teach children to celebrate diversity? Years ago, as I dropped my daughter off at preschool one day, I noticed a girl point to a boy and ask…

The gift of godparents
Living Faithfully

The gift of godparents

My daughter gets a package from her godmother every June near the anniversary of her baptism. When she was little, it was usually a book. As she grew older the…

A joy-filled service just for them
Living Faithfully

A joy-filled service just for them

It starts with a parachute in the sanctuary. Children and adults of all abilities hold its edges and lift multicolored sheets up and down while singing “Jesus Loves Me.” Jayden…

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Living Faithfully

God’s heartbeat

Have you ever cried so hard, been so upset, that you couldn’t catch your breath? Have you been so overwhelmed by life—violence … inequality … death … brokenness—that you couldn’t…

Lessons in gratitude
Living Faithfully

Lessons in gratitude

Now that I’m a parent I get it. Or at least now I laugh at myself more because I think I get it—I have some semblance of how God feels…

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Living Faithfully

Axis of stability

Change is constant: seasons come and go; people are born, people die; jobs drift; cars break down. The news changes daily—some new horror to try to explain to kids. Their…

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Living Faithfully

Walking toward one another, cultivating understanding

The small village where I served with the Peace Corps had never hosted a volunteer. Nestled beside one of the two roads in the country, an eight-hour bus ride from…

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Living Faithfully

Holy trek to college

As my daughter Junie prepares to go to college this fall, I think of our journey over the last year as a sort of spiritual pilgrimage. By naming the college…

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Living Faithfully

Tablets for tots

Tech-savvy youth and the latest in tablet technology have connected Trinity Lutheran Church in Tullahoma, Tenn., and the children of the Tullahoma Day Care Center. The congregation’s “Mentoring Ministry” project …