Blog
Where
the blog
goes
On the Road: The Psalms of Ascent
Studies in Psalms 120-134, a set of pilgrimage songs.
Wayside Stops
Reflections prompted by life circumstances.
Holding the Flashlight
Assorted tips and helps for Bible study.
The Book of Daniel
Studies in Daniel 1-7 . . . where my blog began!
Recent Posts
The Trail Head
Psalms 120–134 make up the Psalms of Ascent, a collection of songs for the journey from where life is messed up to where it reflects God’s intended blessing for his people. I stumbled into the Psalms of Ascent when I was plodding through graduate school in Madison,...
Leave the Dust
We vacuum religiously at our house. Dusting is another story, but you wouldn’t know it from our shelf full of dusting supplies: fuzzy blue Norwex dusting mitts, a California Duster, cans of Endust and Pledge, a Swiffer duster, and a pile of rags big enough to suds the...
Six Feet
We went to the site together, you and I— I drove you there to inspect the stone, newly placed. The summer sun was bright, your grassy spot speckled with shade. You stood six feet back, shoes planted near their final resting place. Six feet of summer green and creeping...
Dear Dad
It’s Father’s Day week. In honor and memory of my dad, I’ve been drinking out of one of his mugs. I think I gave it to him for Christmas 2004—at the end of one of the most difficult years of my life. By Christmastime I was halfway through my first year as a graduate...
A Holy Week
This has been a Holy Week to remember—or, some might say, to forget. With COVID-19 flying around the globe, most of us have “been sent home until further notice,” and the most holy week on the church calendar has been forced into cyber space. I began the week Facebook...
Dad
It won't be long now. We’re about to lose our dad for the second time. We lost him the first time on June 1, 2005. That morning as he prayed with my mom—as he did every morning before the day got going—he suffered a massive stroke that robbed him of a great deal of...
“I want to go home.”
As I stared into the porcelain bowl of a hotel bathroom on Sunday night, I wanted two things. First, to stop puking, and second, to go home—in that order. A stomach bug when you’re an airplane trip away from home is magnified misery. Think TSA, crowds, and carry-on...
Minding the Melody of a Marriage
It was Christmas Eve, and we were spending the morning with my dad, who passes most of the day in his recliner—napping or staring out the window. I looked around for things I thought might interest him, a challenging exercise since he seldom tells you. Questions are...
A Daisy in Winter
It’s a mild January afternoon in Minnesota, but no one here is fooled. Daffodils and daisies, some of the earliest and cheeriest signs of spring, are months away. Plenty of subzero temperatures, sheets of ice, and piles of snow lay between here and that most wonderful...