Perspective: Pruned open
Voices of Faith

Perspective: Pruned open

A few years ago, during a tour of the Portland (Ore.) Japanese Garden, our guide stopped in front of an elegant Japanese maple tree, its delicate leaves fanning out in…
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Voices of Faith

Uplifting gifts (part two)

Editor’s note: This collection of reflections is an online addition to our December 2018 cover story, “Uplifting Christmas gifts.” Ingredients for love Our daughter, Kristen, and her friends spent several growing-up…
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Voices of Faith

Uplifting Christmas gifts

Earlier this year, Living Lutheran invited readers and writers to submit personal stories of gifts that illuminated the true meaning of Christmas for them. From a kind note to beloved…
Peace on Earth, and pass the popcorn
Voices of Faith

Peace on Earth, and pass the popcorn

Advent and Christmas are filled with traditions that bring us together and help tell the story of our faith. For many of us, one such tradition is watching popular films…
My take: What keeps us safe?
Voices of Faith

My take: What keeps us safe?

I’m sitting at my neighborhood coffee shop, thousands of miles away from the ostensibly dangerous Central American migrants threatening to cross the U.S. border. Miles, even, from the more murderous…
What chronic illness taught me about grace
Voices of Faith

What chronic illness taught me about grace

If you’d asked me a decade ago what grace meant to me, I’m not sure I could have answered. Or I would have said something like “the gifts of God…
I’m a Lutheran: Don Knuth
Voices of Faith

I’m a Lutheran: Don Knuth

First Lutheran Church, Palo Alto, Calif. Retired college professor My faith has been a source of inspiration because I believe God is pleased when people create innovations that make our…
Waiting in Jerusalem
Voices of Faith

Waiting in Jerusalem

At 15 and 13 years old, my children still wait and expect the gifts they requested for Christmas. With each passing year, they are almost sure they’ll get what they…
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Voices of Faith

What biblical scholars don’t do

Most of us in the religion business can relate to this scenario: you are on a plane and end up sitting next to someone who asks you, “What do you…
3 songs, 2 themes, 1 awe-inspiring Messiah
Voices of Faith

3 songs, 2 themes, 1 awe-inspiring Messiah

One of my favorite parts of Advent and Christmas are the songs. I especially like “We Three Kings” because it describes Jesus’ life, death and resurrection from the point of…