(First and foremost, to my current congregants: Have no fear – I am not leaving! This is a post from last year about my former church in Wisconsin. K, on with the post…) If you’ve been going to church for any length of time, odds are you’ve had a pastor leave. Sometimes it’s for another … More When a Pastor Moves On
This week at our house: Me: What do you want for breakfast? Preschooler: Peanut butter pancakes. Me [fifteen minutes later]: Here’s your breakfast! Preschooler: WHAT IS THIS?! I HAAAATE PEANUT BUTTER PANCAKES!!! Me: [silently Googling how old a child has to be to go to boarding school overseas] Kidding. Mostly. Pre-kid, I sometimes felt at … More What’s at the End of Your Rope? * 10 Minute Devotional
There are few things more lonely and scary than God’s silence. I once witnessed a woman throw a rosary into a trash can after being informed her son had died. “I prayed for him to be healed,” she said, her voice firm, her eyes hollow. “Now I know there is no God.” If you walk with … More When God Seems Silent * 10 Minute Devotional
My childhood pastor once told our congregation the story of a man walking down a beach tossing starfish back into the water. If they stayed washed up on the beach they would dry out and die, so he tossed them back as he strolled along the ocean’s edge. The problem was that there were thousands of … More It Matters to This One * 10 Minute Devotional
The first church I pastored was in rural Wisconsin. Farm country. We lived on the town’s main thoroughfare, and our toddler son often stood glued to the front window watching tractors roll down the street. A man in our congregation heard that Daryl had never driven a tractor (why this surprised him I do not know, since Daryl grew … More Waking Up in Anxious Times * 10 Minute Devotional
We went to the park last week and I totally forgot to bring snacks. Rule #1 of parenting is always have enough snacks. Always, always, alwaysalwaysalways. My firstborn asked for a snack and I suddenly realized I’d left the bag in our entryway at home. “I’m so sorry,” I told him. “The snacks are at … More Again Tomorrow * 10 Minute Devotional
I just got back from ten days in northern Wisconsin (folks from northern Wisconsin always specify the northern because southern Wisconsin is cities and farmland, while the north is woods and lakes and white-tailed deer and air so fresh your lungs practically say “thank you” with each exhale). I grew up there, and my parents still live … More Top 10 Signs You’re at Your Childhood Home
1. Eat Less Sugar Yeah. I have a sweet tooth. Or maybe I have only sweet teeth. Since Diabetes runs in my family, it’s high time I got a bit of a handle on my Icees-and-Swedish-Fish obsession. (I have the palate of an eight-year-old. Don’t judge.) But here’s the thing: choosing to restrict something usually just makes me … More 5 New Years’ Resolutions I’m Not Making (and What I’m Doing Instead)
Isaiah 11:6 (NIV) The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. I use to capital-h HATE nature shows growing up. My little sisters and I would gather around the fuzzy picture on the … More Predator, Prey, and a Better Way * Advent Devotional
Fear can be a bad thing. Fear of what others might think, of putting ourselves out there, of making a mistake can paralyze us. Fear of the other, of those who are different than we are, of our neighbor can make us defensive and uncertain. Fear is often a bad thing. But sometimes fear is good. … More Afraid of God? * Advent Devotional
Courtney Ellis 