Hallowed be thy name

It makes sense that Halloween leads into election day… We are all a little afraid. In reality Halloween is connected to November first – All Saints Day. A saint is holy and hallow means holy, so Halloween began as All Hallows Eve. All Saints Day remembers and celebrates the saints who have entered grace. As […]

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growing UP

Ivy was in the hospital’s incubator. She was beautiful and amazing. And tough — after what I just witnessed. My eyes were wide, my heart praying. I was not sure if I was allowed to touch her. So I asked the nurse if it was okay? With a laugh, she replied, “She is your baby […]

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18

Ivy turned 18 last week. We are now parents of an adult. I can no longer be surprised by all the gray hairs… gray is who I am! That evening Ivy was pet sitting at a country house. It was nestled in the woods, a beautiful place. But the thought of sleeping there in the […]

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Submit… slaves and women?

The First Letter from Peter commands slaves to submit (2:18) and “in the same way” wives to submit (3:1). Why does the bible contain this language? Especially laid alongside Paul’s language, “there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male or female” (Gal 3:28). First, what is the occasion for […]

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Defining Evangelical

“Iowa is culturally conservative, non-practicing Christians at this point” — writing on evangelicals, Ryan Burge, Prof of Political Science and Baptist Pastor Dictionaries do not define a word’s meaning. Words are defined by society. Understanding this helps explain how a word’s definition changes over time. It helps explain why our language (definition and pronunciation) is […]

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