My wife loves to shop for crafting supplies at JoAnn Fabrics in Duluth. Inks, markers, materials, paper, dies, embossing plates all seem to make their way in abundance from the second row side shelves to storage bins at our house. I say, “What would you like to do in Duluth today?” She says, “Well, maybe we can go by JoAnn... READ MORE >
From time to time, when it’s appropriate and when there is time, I will ask someone at the end of life, with whom I am planning memorial service details, what message they would like me to share with the people who will gather to honor their memory. I remind them that this is their chance to say what they really... READ MORE >
As religious faith in general and the Christian faith in particular become more and more maligned and marginalized in western culture, I find it intriguing how many people who discredit and disapprove of the Bible (Christianity’s primary book), people who have all too often never even read it, take great pleasure misquoting it in certain common circumstances. Of particular interest... READ MORE >
The sky is darkening outside the window as the storm closes in from the west. A gorgeous, sunny day has taken on a new tone, darker, edgier, threatening. The peepers in the pond by the road have grown silent but the leaves on the Russian olive trees have not turned. They usually turn before a storm. I wonder if there... READ MORE >
Sometimes, you just have to focus on the goal and push through the distractions. It was a few minutes before the wedding was due to start. The pastor had talked with the groom earlier. All the groomsmen were present and accounted for and ready for the big event. It was a beautiful day. Clear skies. Bright sun. Gentle breeze. The... READ MORE >
A nondescript blue building with plate glass windows rests just off Highway 61 at the eastern entrance to Grand Marais. Driveways course down to a parking lot scarred by snow and ice furrows despite the effect of a prolonged January thaw. A short, pebbled walk leads to the front door where the occasional toe kick loosens the frost that sometimes... READ MORE >
Power went out at home the other day. I had spent the morning cleaning out my basement workroom, removing several years of leftover materials from building the apartment in the lower level. I had lots of great stuff I knew I would never use all boxed up to take to Oddz & Endz and then the lights went out. It... READ MORE >
It is quiet at my desk in the corner of the basement. Dawn has not yet broken, and new snow softens the world outside the window. Lucy the Yorkie must have heard the deer coursing through the trees beside and behind the house. She rarely barks, except at the deer and the fox that loves to trot from east to... READ MORE >
Sometimes, when the challenges of life pile on and the sorrows of life multiply and the seasons of life pass agonizingly slowly, I just want God to remind me of the commitments He’s made for my well-being, don’t you? I find myself, occasionally, walking in Tevye’s shoes. You know, Tevye, the lead persona in “Fiddler on the Roof.” Tevye is... READ MORE >
Skandalon It’s a Greek word, but you might recognize in it another word, an English word: “scandal.” That’s right, the English words scandal and scandalous come from the Greek word, skandalon. “So what?” you might ask. “What’s with the English vocabulary lesson?” Well, I’m glad you asked. Let me tell you. Skandalon (which refers to something that causes offense and... READ MORE >
