No jiggling of a handle was required. To prepare for the feast of feasts, the outhouse had been equipped with store-bought toilet paper and comforting peach papers. A Monkey Ward’s catalog was kept in reserve. We have Thanksgiving because we need to be reminded of all the beauty there is in the world. We were blessed but didn’t know those were the good old days. We had … [Read more...]
Journal Writing Project: Gender-affirming Care; Can It Save Lives?
By Saturn Ludewig In case anyone does not know what the terms referring to one’s gender mean, transgender is defined, by a Google search, as “denoting or relating to a person whose gender identity does not correspond with the sex registered for them at birth,” a transgender man is someone who was born as a female and labeled as a woman but is transitioning to become a man, … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotions: Respecting an Establishment of Religion
By Pastor Jeff Jacobs Unity Lutheran Parish - St. Paul, Saetersdal and St. Matthew’s, Granger This week we recall again the story of the Mayflower Pilgrims’ coming to a new land. And a primary reason they came was religious freedom. They’d rejected the “trappings” of the Church of England and sought to live and worship in a simpler, “purer” faith. Many early settlers … [Read more...]
Fresh off the farm: Why I’m Not Thankful
Nothing has gone as planned today. You know the day. I set my alarm early to get some kid-free work done and then they woke up before my alarm. (How do they know?!) I didn’t eat the nutritious breakfast I was planning because I was feeding a crabby baby and I felt munchy. (#oops) I didn’t stretch, exercise, or gather my thoughts this morning because #littlepeople. Now they’re … [Read more...]
If You Look for Enough Eagles, Everything Looks Like an Eagle
Flying is relaxing. It’s the kind of relaxation found in a clinic waiting room while you’re standing by to see a doctor. I was on my way to the “Second star to the right and straight on ‘til morning.” Those are the words of J.M. Barrie and are Peter Pan’s directions to Neverland. I was headed to Haines, Alaska, in November. Marcus Aurelius said, “When you arise in the … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past: “Mucking Out” Greatly Appreciated by the Cows
Housecleaning appeared more appreciated by the livestock than by the humans. Some older cows jumped and pranced when they were returned to stalls that had just been cleaned. “Envision these animals sticking their noses in the fresh straw and with udders waving, leaping from ecstasy,” recalled Warren Lange in 2015 about cleaning the barn as a boy on a Houston County farm in the … [Read more...]
Journal Writing Project Pre-college 101
By Hannah Kingsley Juniors and seniors alike are regularly asked the same question by peers, family, and their community: what will you do after high school? For most, this can be a daunting question to have to answer, but there’s no need to fear the future. For those planning on going to college after high school, you don’t have to know what you want to major in right away. … [Read more...]
Peering at the Past With Awe and Reverence, Remembering Captain McIntire
He visited classes at Houston School to talk about the Battle of Gettysburg. He was knowledgeable because he had been there, in uniform, as a combatant. Born in Dedham, Mass., in 1838, Samuel Bates McIntire (sometimes spelled McIntyre) moved as a young man with his parents, Edmund and Sarah McIntire, to Minnesota territory in the early- to mid-1850s. First settling in Yucatan … [Read more...]
Pastor Devotions – Who’s Watching?
By Pastor Paul Hauschild Chatfield and Root Prairie Lutheran Churches The 1964 Philadelphia Phillies will always be known as the team that suffered one of the greatest collapses in sports history. They let a huge division lead slip away by losing 10 games in a row at the end of the season. Despite the collapse, the Phillies’ season had its share of memorable moments, … [Read more...]
Halloween is a Sugar-Coated Day Until You Lose a Nostril
I remember the scariest Halloween of my life. I worked the late shift at a gas station. Besides pumping gas, my job was to check the oil, check the radiator, determine if the tires had a sufficient amount of air, wash the windshield, windows and mirrors, check the lights, give directions, offer a free road map, tell a joke, collect the money and do it all cheerfully. I also … [Read more...]