Faith in the Cracks

1 Corinthians 13 is often called the love chapter. Part of it is read at weddings. Love is patient, love is kind...but Paul also says that if we speak and have not love we are noisy gong or clanging cymbal. What determines which we are? Does it depend not only on our intent and our words, but also the hearer? Maybe they don't like what we have to say or wish we wouldn't be so loud. Which...

We all make choices in life. What we choose has consequences. Things happen because of our actions or inactions. Director Jon Chu said in an interview that part 1 of Wicked was about choices and the 2nd part which will be released later in 2025 is about consequences. This past week choices were made by the new administration and by leaders like Bishop Marian Budde. We will see how those choices co...

As we celebrate Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, let us think about what he was calling us to do and to be. He was a prolific speaker and writer. One speech, "The Transformed Non Conformist" caught my attention as to what he was calling Christians to. A reminder of what the early Christians said and did. Let us return to the work before us.  Support the show

The California Wildfires continue to be deadly and devastating. God is not the cause of the fires. People have been quick to point fingers and assign blame. Everything from government mismanagement, DEI hires, and even the wrath of God. GOD DID NOT CAUSE THE FIRES. God has made us, God loves us, and God walks with us. In Isaiah 43 God lays claim to the Israelites who have been in exile and reminds...

The New Year begins in a few days. I am not one for resolutions, but I do think it is wise to reflect on the previous year and what is ahead. I am grateful for all who have journeyed with me and looked for Faith in the Cracks. For me, I want to spend time reflecting on my needs and working to put myself first at times. I want to continue work done in 2024 and expand upon it. What are you hoping fo...

This is a busy time of year. It is also a time of year when grief can surface. Take time for yourself. In the midst of the busy-ness of the holidays, take time to listen to yourself. Grieve that which you have lost. Sit with dreams that have gone by the wayside. Give yourself time to just be. And while you are being gentle with yourself, remember that others struggle this time of year as well and...

In Luke 1, Gabriel visits Zechariah and Mary 6 months apart. Zechariah is filled with terror and he doubts Gabriel tells him. Mary however is perplexed when Gabriel says "Greetings Favored One." She asks questions that show curiosity. The difference in our approach can make all the difference.  I have always wondered how things just always seemed to work for my dad. He would tell stories...

We are a society of instant gratification. We don't like to wait. I am okay with planned waiting where I know I have an hour or something like that and I can read or play games or whatever. But the long, expectant waiting of Advent is not what we want to do. We like instant gratification.  Zechariah and Elizabeth had been waiting. They had hoped for a child and I wonder if in their fervent pr...

The season of Advent is a time of waiting as we listen once again to the stories surrounding the birth of Jesus. This year I am preaching a series called On the Way to Bethlehem, which is written by Dr. Marcia McFee and based on a devotional book of the same title by Rob Fuquay. As we begin in Rome and a decree from Caesar Augustus - how can we ponder "What is God up to?"  It is a great...

As we come to the week of Thanksgiving in the United States, I find that I am often forgetful of saying thank you. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18 Paul reminds the people to Give thanks in all things. I certainty forget to give thanks in the midst of hardship and trouble. But I forget to give thanks for the little every day things as well. My goal is to be thankful for the world and the people around me m...

Hope is not about magical or wishful thinking. Hope is grounded in our trust of God and of God's goodness. Hope should help drive us to make a difference in the world and to be the hands and feet of God. Hope should be about getting to the places we have not yet gotten.  #Lamentations3 #Romans8 #Hebrews11 Support the show

Mr. Rogers Neighborhood premiered nationally in February 1968. The land of make believe was in turmoil as was the real world. For 30 years Fred Rogers helped children make sense of the world around them and he taught them ways to cope with changes. Being a neighbor was about caring for your community.  In this day and age we need to remember how to be neighbors. Luke 10 brings the parable of the G...

With all the storms that have torn through our country, with all the election cycle angst, with all the pressure of the everyday world, we need some unbridled joy.  We keep a friend's dog from time to time. Piper is a year old miniature golden doodle. She is a ball of energy and a source of unbridled joy. She quite literally hops like a baby goat because she gets so excited. She is always up...

Halloween in my childhood was for kids. Trick-or-treating with friends. Getting candy and homemade treats. Wearing plastic costumes. Along the way the candy companies have marketed well, costumes have become more elaborate and some folks have gotten bent out of shape over this holiday.  Halloween has its origins in ancient Celtic practices honoring the dead and the transition from life to death. C...

As I snuggled with one of my kids this week, they asked me who I was voting for in the election and why. As I gave my answer, I realized that much of what sways me as a voter is the character of the leader. I can disagree with people on policy, but if they are a leader who cares about people, I can still follow.  Throughout the Gospels, Jesus heals people and in doing so restores them to community...

Life feels overwhelming. Hurricanes Helene and Milton; West Coast Wildfires; Wars in the Middle East and Ukraine; an election cycle; climate change; gun violence; and the list goes on.  I was late getting this episode posted because of feeling overwhelmed with family and with career and with all the things.  Kate Bowler, New York Times best selling author co wrote a devotional book and in one devo...

Many Bible texts have been used against the LGBTQ+ community and against women. The creation account in Genesis 2 certainly has. But what if it has some different understandings than the way it has been used to subjugate people? What if we look at the Hebrew and seek the fuller understanding of some of the words that we have perhaps mistranslated into English? We find a story where God is acting a...

With all the damage wrought by Hurricane Helene, it is time to set aside political agendas and lift up our siblings across the Southeastern United States who are in need of help.  Organizations such as Presbyterian Disaster Assistance provide aid to local communities. Other organizations such as the Red Cross also can help in times of need.  People are without and will be without safe water, elect...

My spouse and a friend have taken a bucket list trip and I have been home with our twin elementary kids, our dog, and our friend's dog. I am exhausted. It is tiring to keep up with all the needs of the household and my job and getting everyone where they need to go. I have had help of friends in our circles. People who can take kids to an activity or pick them up. People who have held space f...

Grief is a human experience. To love deeply and to have that love change or disappear means we will feel that loss deeply too. It has been a year since my dad died. It has been 3 years since my mom. We all have loved ones die. But grief isn't just about the death of loved ones. Grief comes from job changes and other relationship changes. And a variety of experiences can bring up that which we...

Chaos swirls all around us. Another school shooting and ongoing wars. We have chaos in our personal lives as well. For me it is coming up on the one year anniversary of the death of my father. Chaos is part of our everyday life. The story of Noah and the flood is a story of chaos as God uncreates the world and begins again. We have tamed the story with our floating zoo images and it is time to rec...

Picher, Oklahoma. Treece, Kansas. It is likely you have never heard of these towns, yet both Picher and Treece along with others in the NE part of Oklahoma and the SE part of Kansas no longer exist, except in ruins. These ghost towns have been deserted because they are uninhabitable. Mining companies pulled the lead and zinc out and left behind a toxic dump. Flint, Michigan a decade after the wate...

In a world split between "us" and "them" how can we work to be us? We have my football team vs your football team; Coke vs Pepsi; political parties; and any number of divisions. In Matthew 25 we have the sheep and the goats. What would happen if we adopted an attitude of everyone were sheep? Everyone fed the hungry, clothed the naked, cared for the sick, etc. What if we were al...

In Ephesians 4: 11-16, Paul talks about equipping the saints for ministry and how we are to mature in faith as to not be blown to and fro by the winds of doctrine or through deceitful human actions. I think about this in the midst of the political season. How can we take hold of what we belief and not allow the tearing down of political ads to change us. How do we speak the truth in love with peop...

We are built to be in community. Amazing things can happen when we gather together. I talked about this with my congregation this morning, but I was reminded of the importance of gathering again at an event for a family gathering tonight. We saw friends we have not hung out with in a long while, and it was good to be with them again. A chance to share a meal with friends and to be together is refr...