Category: Unfiled

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Turning Points: Where the Church Has Been and a Look at the Future

Title: Turning Points: Where the Church Has Been and a Look at the FutureLocation: Crossview Lutheran ChurchLink out: Click hereDescription: This series (come and go as you need to) will explore the major “turning points” in the history of the Church and will also take a stab at looking at what the trends might be […]

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Toy Story 3: Incredible

My wife and I took grandchildren to see Toy Story 3.  I went expecting a children’s movie.  I was curious, though, because I had read an article in the paper that said that Toy Story 3 made men cry.  I thought that sounded strange.  Well, I didn’t sob but I certainly got a bit teary-eyed […]

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Attitudes about Average

I heard the most interesting quote today.  I think I may like it, but I am not sure.  The quote offered was this:  “average is at the top of bad and at the bottom of good therefore we must strive for excellence.”  I live in Lake Wobegon where, as you know, everyone is above average […]

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Radical Welcome for the Stranger…

The Hebrew/Christian Scriptures give some incredible insight as to how to treat the stranger in our midst.  God is a welcoming God and as God teaches and guides God’s people, God does so with a loving and welcoming attitude toward the stranger.  God reminds us that we know the heart of an alien because we […]

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Hospitality-Creating a Safe Place in a Hostile World

Practicing hospitality is to welcome the stranger..to respect all persons…..to joyfully and lovingly provide a place where people feel safe. We live in such a hostile world. Today all 60 public schools in Minneapolis were locked down because of a web posting that threatened a shooting at one of the schools.  This just doesn’t feel […]

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Recent Items

  • The Loneliness Factor

    I was at a luncheon that was serving as a listening post for seniors to describe their sense of loneliness and isolation. I knew that the population invited to this luncheon was one that would probably have a higher sense of isolation, but, what I heard was much more intense than I expected. A man […]

  • Social Networks and Aging

    It is interesting that research is showing two demographics experiencing social isolation in such as way as to impact health: Young Adults (18-22) and Senior Adults (65+). I have worked with both populations over the past 50 years and I continue to be amazed at the similarity of the questions raised by both groups and […]

  • An Eye-Opening Awareness: One More Transition for this Guy

    I sat at a luncheon two weeks ago that opened my eyes to a reality that I knew was there, but as the discussion unfolded I began to realize how the discussion, about to take place, was going to expand my thinking. As I listened to the needs of the people with whom I shared […]

  • TRANSFORMATIVE CHANGE: LETTING GOD SET THE AGENDA

    When it comes to the human condition and a desire to change, we can become easily frustrated: we think that we want to change … but we really don’t. Paul expresses this contradiction well in Romans 7:15-24: “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do […]

  • The Crisis of Loneliness

    THE NATIONAL CRISIS CALLED LONELINESS From “LINKED IN” “America is becoming Isolation Nation. Nearly half of respondents to a nationwide survey by health insurer Cigna say they always or sometimes feel alone, and 54% say they feel no one knows them well. Such loneliness is connected to increased risk of heart disease, stroke and premature death. The […]