On March 7, we left to go on an 8-day cruise to the Caribbean for a planned family vacation. At that point, the coronavirus (COVID-19) had been spreading in other countries and there were a few cases on the West Coast of the U.S. Since there were no travel recommendations
Note: This is a guest post written by Sean Ewbank, Director for Evangelical Mission/Assistant to the Bishop in the Southeast Michigan Synod, ELCA. “You have a unique opportunity to begin again.” Those words were spoken to me by my dear friend as we stood in front of the smoking ruin
Lately, I’ve been reading through Psalms and Proverbs for my regular Bible devotions. And I came across this Bible verse: Such is the fate of all who are greedy for money; it robs them of life. Proverbs 1:19 (New Living Translation) I was immediately struck by this verse, since as
Hi! My name is Becca, and I’m an online shopping addict. It began when I got sick back in 2015 after the death of our son, and no one could figure out what was wrong with me for years. I sat on the couch feeling horrible (physically, emotionally, and spiritually).
I once lived in a geographic area in which there was always one “cool” or trendy church. It was the church that everyone and their mother– literally– went to for worship. No matter where you were in town, you heard about what was going on at this church. The interesting
“New year, new you.” This phrase is pretty much everywhere when a new year rolls around. The beginning of a new year seems like a natural time to start fresh and make some beneficial changes in our lives. Yet 80% of New Year’s resolutions fail. We assume that it being
Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol has become a classic Christmastime tradition. Whether we watch one of the many film adaptations, the stage play, or read the original written story, it has stood the test of time and continues to be a tradition every year. It’s a story that has ingrained
Stories are a part of the human experience. Jesus often used parables, or stories, to teach us deep theological concepts that would have been hard to grasp otherwise. Below is a modern-day parable that touches on the minimalist lifestyle. This story is by Bill Harley and was originally told on
On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and show yourselves to
A few years ago, a pastor colleague of mine mentioned to me an interesting conversation he had recently with a church member. This church member asked him if he had any siblings. He responded, briefly describing the birth order of each of his multiple siblings. The church member then asked