I prayed for my pastor today. He had crawled up into the church’s playground equipment and was scrubbing graffitied profanity with a magic eraser. As I watched him scrub, I thought of the many times people brought him their sins, cloaked as problems to be solved. Instead of offering magic erasers, my pastor gave theContinue reading “On Praying for Your Pastor”
Tag Archives: Church
The Resurrection of Liturgy
This article first appeared in the Devils Lake Journal Sept. 25, 2025. liturgy: (n) a form or formulary according to which public religious worship is conducted; from the Greek “leitourgia,” meaning public service The mass might have been in Latin for all my classmates knew. I peeked to the right and to the left. ItContinue reading “The Resurrection of Liturgy”
Urgent Need
“Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead,” my husband was preaching from James. I happened to turn and glance over my shoulder at the kitchen where two ladies were making a potluck meal. A third lady stood toward the back of the entryway waving frantically. I wondered if she might beContinue reading “Urgent Need”
Another Chicken Parable
The weather has been warm enough to move my chickens out of the coop and into the chicken tractors. Chicken tractors are mobile coops that roll around the yard. After a whole winter cooped up in the coop, the chickens should have been very happy to graze green grass and feel the Spring breezes. ButContinue reading “Another Chicken Parable”
A Prayer Listen
“Guard your steps when you go to the house of God. To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools, for they do not know that they are doing evil,” the Preacher wrote in his book of Ecclesiastes. This past Saturday, there were a lot of things I could haveContinue reading “A Prayer Listen”
Growing Popcorn
Listen HERE It takes 100 days for popcorn to grow. I planted the seeds in May. I watched the stalks grow throughout June and July. By August 25th, the yellow ears were ready to harvest. My kids helped me take the kernels off about fifty of the cobs, and I couldn’t wait to fry themContinue reading “Growing Popcorn”
Pickleball Lessons
When I play pickleball with my son, we both go all out. Pickleball is America’s fastest growing sport according to USA Pickleball, and it is easy enough to learn that our whole family can play together. It is fun to watch our children play with full effort, and I am thankful that our local pickleballContinue reading “Pickleball Lessons”
Unable
Listen HERE Last year, when my family and church traveled to camp in Medora, ND, I was too afraid to climb to the top of the butte nearby. I made it halfway up, and then my youngest son’s exuberance and aversion to caution met my fear of heights. I sat down right where I wasContinue reading “Unable”
Whose Weapons are These?
While cleaning the garage recently, I threw a handful of sticks out into the side yard. My youngest son yelled in protest, “Those are my weapons!” I tried explaining that they were only sticks, but he carefully explained how they were daggers and arrows and scimitars. I tried a different tack. “They are not sharpContinue reading “Whose Weapons are These?”
Too Much Jesus
At what point do you become a fanatic? In the nineties, D.C. Talk sang about Jesus Freaks. In the 2000’s, medical missionary Kent Brantly contracted ebola while sharing the Gospel with patients in Liberia. Just this year, an entire North Korean family, including their two year old, was imprisoned for owning a Bible. These seemContinue reading “Too Much Jesus”
Sarah Dixon Young 