Tag Archives: Jesus

Out of the Depths

The kitten’s piteous meowing sounded weak.  It had fallen down an old well in our yard. My son carefully removed the sheets of corrugated metal and peered into the grimy blackness. “It’s so far down,” he said. “I’m not sure I can get it out.” As one of my daughters went for a long-handled net,Continue reading “Out of the Depths”

The Lost Art of the Missionary Story

When Jesus sent His disciples out two by two, they cast out unclean spirits, and they called for people to repent of their sins.  They were excited when they returned to Him with the world’s first Christian missionary stories.  Missionary stories aren’t in vogue any more. My favorite one, written by Amy Carmichael, a missionaryContinue reading “The Lost Art of the Missionary Story”

On Praying for Your Pastor

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”

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”

Conservatism’s Door to the Gospel

Charlie Kirk didn’t begin his political activism from a Christian point of view. He, like many others, thought that religion could be held separate from the political sphere, a self-imposed separation of church and state.  But, the more he became involved in conservative politics and policies, the more he changed his views on the roleContinue reading “Conservatism’s Door to the Gospel”

Whatness

On the reservation where I live, there is a little town called Tokio. It is funny when visitors ask, “Tokyo? Isn’t that in Japan?” Well, yes, and no. Tribal historian Louis Garcia once told me how Tokio got its name. The railroad was going to be coming through that area, but it was sparsely populated.Continue reading “Whatness”

Disarmed

This article first appeared in the September 4, 2025 edition of the Devils Lake Journal. In 1798, President John Adams issued a proclamation that May 9th be “a day of solemn humiliation, fasting, and prayer” due to the danger the United States was facing. France threatened. Commerce halted. The fledgling nation had barely enough toContinue reading “Disarmed”

Timeless

This article first appeared in the Devils Lake Journal August 28, 2025. In a conversation with my favorite three-year-old, I said, “I will come pick you up at five o’clock.” She promptly reversed the camera on the phone she was holding so that I could see the digital clock in her mom’s car. “Look Grandma,”Continue reading “Timeless”

Made Beautiful

“Hello? This is Dakota Baptist Church.” “Sarahcanyoubringmeapop??” One of my responsibilities the summer I was seventeen was to answer the church phone. The caller was a twelve year old girl. She spoke so quickly that all her words ran together, and we had the same conversation everyday. “Well, where are you?” “Atmyhouse.” “Where’s your house?”Continue reading “Made Beautiful”