Uncategorized Continue 11 Apr 202311 Apr 2023 By Alli Bauck It is finished. Lent/Holy Week/Easter 2023 ended with an exclamation mark of joyous singing and enthusiastic high-fiving (by my 2.5 year old). But it’s not over. (Alleluia, it’s not…
Faith Experiment… #Lenten Walk, Week 5 30 Mar 202311 Apr 2023 By Alli Bauck “Hi, friends!” A familiar voice enthusiastically welcomes me. It belongs to Annie F. Downs, a woman I have never met; but she and I have been on…
Faith Experiment… #Lenten Walk, Week 4 22 Mar 202322 Mar 2023 By Alli Bauck If anyone is keeping track, we are over halfway through the Lenten season. (Resurrection Sunday is getting closer!!!) For me, personally, the last eleven days have been…
For My Friends You Go; and I’ll Walk with You 17 Mar 202317 Mar 2023 By Justin Rossow Our mailbox is 0.7 miles from our front door. It used to be 7 feet. Since our last move, getting the mail has become more than a…
Faith Experiment… #Lenten Walk, Week … What? 16 Mar 202317 Apr 2023 By Alli Bauck This week felt like one step forward, two steps back. As Spring makes its anticipated arrival to the Kansas City area, the forecast last week was a…
Faith Experiment… #Lenten Walk, Week 2 8 Mar 2023 By Alli Bauck Wow. Podcasts are e-v-e-r-y-where! I started out my #Lentenwalk with a varied list of podcasts (see my first Lenten Walk blog); however, my Spotify library has doubled…
For My Friends Living With the Laughing God 3 Mar 20231 Mar 2023 By Kristeen Bruun On my wall hangs a plaque that a friend engraved for me. It says, “Want to make God laugh? Tell God your plans!” I certainly must believe…
Faith Experiment… #Lenten Walk, Week 1 1 Mar 20231 Mar 2023 By Alli Bauck While visiting with a friend on the phone last night, she asked me how my Lenten walk practice was going. I laughed and reported that on the…
Faith Experiment… Lenten Walk 23 Feb 202323 Feb 2023 By Alli Bauck I placed the rectangular box on the table and ceremoniously lifted the lid. A brand new pair of tennis shoes was waiting inside. Peeling back the packing…
For My Friends Bottled Up 20 Feb 202320 Feb 2023 From a Fellow Traveler For a spirit to be defined as bourbon, it must meet five very specific criteria: it must be made in the United States; aging has to…
Uncategorized Christmas Lights in the Dark 15 Dec 202215 Dec 2022 By Kim Longden I have always loved Christmas lights. Some of my most treasured childhood memories are driving around as a family oohing and aahing at houses all decked out…
Discipling Leaders… Let Zacchaeus Have His Day 15 Nov 202215 Nov 2022 By Justin Rossow You probably know the story. Or at least the song: “Zacchaeus was a wee little man, and a wee little man was he.” You likely know the…
For My Friends Non-Judgmental Noticing 7 Oct 2022 The Next Step PodcastSeason 6: My Next Step, Vol 1: Getting StartedEpisode 2.3: Non-Judgmental NoticingDate: 06 October 2022Guest: Jamie Wiechman, Cofounder of Breathe Life Ministries Also available on: Apple Podcasts,…
Make Like a Tree 5 Oct 2022 By Katie Helmreich For nearly a hundred years, our silver poplar tree has graced the backyard. We have dozens of other trees, but this gigantic tree and the shade underneath it…
Discipleship Tools… Noticing Your Emotions, with Jesus 30 Sep 2022 By Justin Rossow Emotions are simply part of who we are as human beings; which means our emotions are "beautifully and wonderfully made," and part of a fallen creation, both…
For My Friends God at Work, in My Kids 23 Sep 20226 Oct 2022 By Katie Helmreich The past month has been an intense struggle for us. My youngest started kindergarten this year, and turns out she wasn't quite ready for it emotionally. Every…
Cultural Studies… Mary and Martha, GPA or GPS? 28 Jul 20222 Nov 2022 By Justin Rossow (with Valerie Matyas) A couple of weeks ago, I got to lead a Next Step workshop at a congregation outside Buffalo, New York. As part of the…
For My Friends Peace in the Process 14 Jul 20222 Nov 2022 By Kim Longden A few days ago, I was sitting in the optometrist’s office with nine-year-old Jonah listening to the hushed tones of the eye exam in progress: “What is…
