Have you made your usual resolutions for 2012 — lose weight, stop smoking, spend more time with family, pay off the credit cards and so on? The usual resolutions address your physical, emotional and financial wellbeing. But how about your spiritual wellbeing? This year resolve to grow in faith — that is, to draw closer […]
“IT’S PERSONAL” BLOG
What did Jesus mean when he said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive”? Is all giving covered? Paul, who quotes Jesus in Acts 20:35, gives us some important hits in the context. (“In Paris Texas” photo, used by Creative Commons license. Thanks!)
IT’S PERSONAL BLOG
Stop driving yourself crazy looking for “the perfect gift” for someone who already has everything they need and want. Here is something perfect for everyone! (Photo by Deklofenak, via Big Stock Photo.)
IT’S PERSONAL BLOG – As a privileged, yuppie newspaper reporter in the 1980s, I was surprised to learn that the Salvation Army Citadel in my city was offering cooking classes for residents of its poorest neighborhood. I envisioned gourmet lessons a la Martha Stewart or Julia Child. What? Boeuf bourguignon avec champignons for the down […]
IT’S PERSONAL Blog – Exactly 40 years ago Frances Moore Lappé proposed a groundbreaking solution to a then-looming food crisis — eating less meat. Lappe’s book, Diet for a Small Planet criticized the vast stores of grain that are fed to animals for meat production. The book has sold millions of copies and is considered […]
‘IT’S PERSONAL’ BLOG – For a week and a half my wallet was nowhere to be found, so I spent time in the financial reality I enjoyed in the 1970s, before ATMs made cash available anywhere at the touch of a button, and before credit cards were easy to obtain — or at least for […]
‘It’s Personal’ Blog
When Hurricane Irene knocked out power on a Sunday morning we had to cancel worship. But is the electric company the real source of our power for worship? Of course not, but many churches hold services even though they seem “off the grid” of the Holy Spirit. (Rob Blezard photo.)
Because Americans are comfortable keeping faith and money separate, whenever we start a conversation about stewardship by talking about money or financial need, we immediately arouse hostility. All stewardship talk which begins with money starts at the wrong place. The place to begin meaningful stewardship conversation is with the concept of freedom. (Photo (c) 2006 Jgroup, via bigstock.com.)
One aspect of the Christian life that often gets little attention in most Lutheran confirmation programs is environmental stewardship. Following is a six-session program that concentrates on how each individual person interacts with his or her surrounding environment. The program has three basic goals; an awareness of how many resources it takes for each of us to live, an awareness of the amounts and kinds of waste each of us generates, and an awareness of our human and Christian responsibility to steward the use of God’s creation.
Rogation is the Eastertide celebration of the fields and orchards during planting time. Why not use it as a way to honor the earth at Springtime? It’s traditionally held the sixth week of Easter, but anytime’s appropriate to honor the processes of life. Here is a Rogation Service you can adapt for your own context: […]
