Category Archives: Featured

Pentecost 23 A: Arming Ourselves for Peace

Posted on November 13, 2023 by John

The second lesson for the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost is 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11 Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need to have anything written to you. 2 For you yourselves know very well that … Continue reading →

Posted in Featured, John's Posts, Reflections on Sunday Readings, Social Political Issues | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pentecost 20 A: The Death of Death.

Posted on October 16, 2023 by John

Isaiah 25  O Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you, I will praise your name; for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure. 2     For you have made the city a heap, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Church, Featured, John's Posts, Reflections on Sunday Readings | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sunshine, Alfalfa, and Max

Posted on October 16, 2023 by John

Hooray for sun, alfalfa, and Max. Today was a day of somber thoughts for our family of faith at St. Luke Lutheran Church. I’m back helping to give pastoral care, preaching, and worship leadership after a dozen years retirement. It … Continue reading →

Posted in Border Collies, Faith, Farm Diary, Featured, John's Posts | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Betty Back from the Brink

Posted on October 10, 2023 by John

Life with many animals on a livestock farm is full of emotional highs and lows. Loving life is no guarantee of happy times, but loving life means life is thick with feeling. Thick with a joy that is more nuanced … Continue reading →

Posted in Border Collies, Farm Diary, Featured, John's Posts | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Farewell to Bilbo

Posted on October 10, 2023 by John

Frodo was the best of mentors to four-month-old Bilbo nine years ago. Photo by John It is a heavy thing to be responsible for an animal. So, for weeks I had a weight on my chest and uneasy sleep because … Continue reading →

Posted in Farm Diary, Featured, John's Posts, Sheep | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Hawk Calling from the Cross

Posted on September 21, 2023 by John

Refreshed. Wine and bread, blood and body. Coffee and hugs, chatting and loving. We then stepped out into dazzling light and wakening breeze to hear the shriek. And then another, and another. This dramatic shriek is the same they put … Continue reading →

Posted in Church, Farm Diary, Featured, John's Posts | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Burying My Hatchet with the LC-MS and Biblical Inerrancy

Posted on September 6, 2023 by John

This morning I grew nostalgic and Googled my old Pilgrim Lutheran congregation in Louisville, Kentucky, which is now Resurrection Lutheran. This was the congregation I was part of as I came to an awakening of faith and a quickening of … Continue reading →

Posted in Church, Faith, Featured, John's Posts | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Spot and a Still Small Voice

Posted on August 28, 2023 by John

In my early days with sheep herding dogs, I thought the only way of getting through to them was through my voice….and the louder the better. You see you train dogs in a big open field; and the sheep start … Continue reading →

Posted in Border Collies, Church and Social Movements, Farm Diary, Featured, John's Posts, Social Political Issues, Spirituality | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Nothing Wasted

Posted on May 27, 2023 by John

I notice those two dead spruce trees. Should I cut them down. They take up space. They are untidy. But, the mourning dove is there now, cooing. And the red winged black bird trilling; and armies of ants up and … Continue reading →

Posted in Farm Diary, Featured, Free Range Philosophy, John's Posts, Spirituality | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Starling Feathers

Posted on February 20, 2023 by John

On the tall maple tree on the south side of our house hangs several bird feeders. Every morning I stand at the window and watch the swarming. My eyes search for the downy woodpeckers, the chickadees, and the flashy male … Continue reading →

Posted in Faith, Farm Diary, Featured, John's Posts | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment