In April 2020 when most of the world was on lockdown and all things seemed uncertain because of the first global pandemic in 100 years I listened to a webinar by author Lara Casey. I can’t tell you the title or most of what she said, except one thing that stuck with...

As followers of Jesus, it is imperative that we are continually in the Word of God. It is important that we fill our minds with things that are beneficial, otherwise we will fill them with whatever it is we spend our time doing. We can slowly begin moving away from...

Its that time of year. The time of shopping. The time of presents. The time of decorating. Yet it is also the time of panic, the time of frustration, and the time of depression. You can see it everywhere you go. People are shopping around franticly, trying to find the...

If you have been with us for a while, you know we've been working through a study on the concepts of "Embracing Exile." In his book by the same title, Dr. Daniels writes, "so the mission of the church in exile is not just to have a message but also to become the...

Proverbs 9 personifies the ideas of Wisdom and Folly as two women who offer people different things. Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars. She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table. She has sent out her servants,...

Lately, I have been stuck with a idea in my head, something that God has really been laying down hard on me, and that is the concept of rewriting. Yet for me, this is not something new. When I was in ministry school one of my professors talked about rewriting our...

In Matthew 6:28-34 we are reminded to seek God first and to not worry because God loves and cares for his children. Listen to part of this familiar passage – the words of our Lord in The Message paraphrase. If God gives such attention to the appearance of...

I know it seems like a cliché, but each of you is uniquely created by God. Each of us has our own personality, our own talents, and our own gifts. But did you also know that you are unique for another reason if you are a Jesus follower? You are unique because you...

  For the past several years, God and I have been communicating about my call. Through God I have been able to understand it in an entirely different light. I must be able to see that my call might be leading in multiple different directions, but only one will be the...

"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20...

Rodney King was a victim of police brutality in the spring of 1992. The four Los Angeles police officers who beat him were acquitted of nearly all the charges. Riots ensued in the city and lasted six days. King appeared on television calling for an end to the...

Last week I had the opportunity to go the New Mexico Church of the Nazarene Family Camp. Though I had a great chance to see my Friends and Family, it was also a moment to really take a second to really listen and reflect with God. More importantly it was a moment to...

We just wrapped up our series on Dangerous Prayers here at Hope Community. It was a challenging series, even for me, as we think about what it looks like to totally surrender ourselves to God and his leading through our willingness to pray dangerous, God-sized...

Most of you know that a few weeks ago Pastor Todd and I took vacation in Myrtle Beach. What you may not know is that this Midwest girl has come to love being around the water. I find it very calming. So as we spent time on the beach I was relaxing and reflecting. I...

The past couple of weeks have not been easy, as many of you may know. They have been trying, and I have spent many hours talking to God, trying to figure things out. Yet I have also been looking ahead and behind me at the same time. I have been looking forward to...

Over the last few days I have been reading Growing True Disciples by George Barna for my current class in the Masters of Arts in Pastoral Leadership program at Olivet. This book is almost twenty years old, but summarizes some significant research about the church and...

Soren Kierkegaard was a favorite of my college Philosophy professor. Prof. Craig insisted that we learn about his major works and how to correctly pronounce his name! You say it Keer-ka-gore. If you’re not familiar, Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher who wrote...

In college one of my professor had us read the poem “I stand by the door” by Sam shoemaker, which reads: I stand by the door. I neither go to far in, nor stay to far out. The door is the most important door in the world - It is the door through which men walk when...

This morning we are starting our summer sermon series Dangerous Prayers. We start with the idea that we need to be willing to pray dangerous or unsafe prayers, not just the safe prayers such as protect us, bless our food, keep us safe, etc. As followers of Jesus, we...

I watched a webinar this week from ONU with Rev. Tara Beth Leach and her mentor Dr. Scot McKnight. I’ve not had the pleasure of meeting either of them personally but have read some of their writings and listened to several of Tara Beth’s sermons. They are both...

It's Pentecost Sunday. We celebrate Pentecost every year in the church, but it does not get the same attention as Christmas, Easter, or any other number of occasions. I have been pondering that this week, as I am more and more convinced that we short change ourselves...

Over the past several weeks, the young adult group has been working through the book of Job. This process has been long and has been making me think about our understanding of God. In several verses, Job is in a conversation with his friends. In this conversation, Job...

We live in a day and time where we need to exercise discernment as followers of Jesus as well as in the church. There are many things that can cause us to go astray if we are not vigilant. In First Corinthians 12:10, Paul refers to “distinguishing between spirits” as...

May is Mental Health Awareness month. Many of you know that I have had my own struggles with depression and anxiety. However, I don’t often go into much detail about it. The truth is that I’m afraid if “people see my crazy” they will think I’m incompetent as a person...

Have you ever wished that you could freeze a moment, or go and relive something in your past? Have you ever lost a photo, one that you treasured with all of you heart, not because of the image in the photo, but because of the experience that the photo represented?...

Dear Friends, Since we did not have our Small Group Study this week I thought I would blog some thoughts on this final week of readings in our book A Sacred Invitation. So below are some things that “struck me”. Our Palm Sunday gospel reading was Matthew 21:12-17 when...

“Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” I can almost imagine what it would have been like to experience this in person. I can imagine the crowds of people lining the dusty road and the palm...

As many of you know this past Wednesday (March 17th) was St. Patrick’s Day, and I couldn’t help but think about how appropriate this is for the Lenten season. As St. Patrick’s day was coming about, I was thinking about a book that I read while in college. The book is...

This week I have found myself reflecting on the last year. It was this time last year that the pandemic was starting to ramp up and we were seeing horror stories of virus spread and death. We were seeing a future for everyone that was potentially going to be...

Dear Friends, I read something this week that made me think. It’s from a book called Make It Happen. Author Lara Casey said. “There are lots of ways to get really busy and then be totally burned out. But there is only one path to purpose: Jesus. He wants us to commit...

During Lent, we tend to focus on the self-denial or "giving something up" part of Lent. While that focus is certainly important, we often forget that the Sundays of Lent are feast days, where our self-denial and fasting are to be set aside to focus on worship, but do...

Lately I have been thinking of a friend of mine. This girl in no way would ever call herself Christian, yet my friend grew up in the Church. She would read her Bible and pray daily and go to church whenever it was open. She was an active member of her church, but when...

The last several weeks I have been especially burdened about how we might better reach lost and broken people around us, right here in Howard, Green Bay, and the surrounding communities. I believe God is beginning to give us a vision of how he wants us to partner with...

Pastor confession: Some weeks when I have something to write it’s “like pulling teeth” to think of something. Other times, there are so many ideas rolling around in my head that I don’t know which one to choose. This week has been one of the latter. I decided to...

Over the last several weeks, I have been making my way through a book by Craig Groeschel titled Dangerous Prayers. As I have been pondering this idea, a few things have been on my mind. First, are we praying safe prayers or are we willing to pray the dangerous, life...

In Isaiah 11 verses 3 and 4 it says, “He will not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears; but with righteousness he will judge the needy, with justice he will give decisions for the poor of the earth.” Isaiah 11 is one of those...

Luke 10:2 says, "He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." This thought has been on my mind over the last many weeks. We are working through a series in Acts,...

I found myself a bit numb during and following the events on this past Wednesday when a mob of angry Americans stormed their own Capitol building in a violent attempt to overturn results of the presidential election. They succeeded only in wreaking enough havoc to...

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." Isaiah 43:19 (NIV) We are in a new year. 2020 is finally behind us. I don't know about you, but there were days that 2020 seemed...

“Jabez, cried out to the God of Israel, ‘Oh, that you would bless me indeed and enlarge my territory, that your hand would be with me, and that you would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!’ So God granted him what he requested.” 1 Chronicles 4:10 (NKJV) The...

Something that God has been speaking to me about lately is perseverance. James 1:2-3 tell us, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” It is easy for...

Confession time…I struggle with fear and anxiety.  Sometimes I can make sense of it because something stressful is going on in my life.  Other times, I can’t even figure out why.  I don’t like it because it makes me feel weak and the “battle” can be frustrating.  But,...

We had the privilege to attend the Wisconsin District Conventions and Assembly this past week. What an amazing time we had! Dr. Eugenio Duarte, one of the six General Superintendents of the Church of the Nazarene, was with us. He gave a message from John 21:1-12. This...

The world seems to be ever swirling around us these days. If we’re not careful, all the chaos can bring us down. But instead of being weighed down by the world. We can be tied to our God. Hebrews 6:18-20 says, “God did this [confirmed his promise with an oath] so...

Membership has its privileges. Just this past week Ellen and I went to the Green Bay Botanical Gardens. It cost us $10 each to get in. The sign said that members get in FREE! Of course, you must pay to become a member. A person can become a member at a golf course and...

As I was thinking about celebrating our national freedom this week, I was also reminded that we Jesus-followers also have a much greater freedom. Galatians 5:1 says, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be...

In 2 Peter chapter one we read, “make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual...

"The Church of the Nazarene, as a global family, affirms our citizenship in God’s kingdom and cannot support the separa-tion of children from their parents at the USA-Mexico bor-der." This was a statement that was posted on the Church of the Nazarene’s Facebook page...

The fashion business and the entertainment industry were rocked this week by the deaths of Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain. Making the news even more painful, if possible, is that both were confirmed suicides. Though I have never met either of these celebrities, I...

In the book, Invitation to a Journey, author Robert Mulholland writes, “Spiritual formation is a process of being formed in the image of Christ, a journey into becoming persons of compassion, persons who forgive, persons who care deeply for others and the world,...

As Summer finally approaches in Wisconsin, I've been thinking again about how seasons change. The last few weeks have been planting season for farmers. This is a good reminder to us that we also sow seed with the choices we make in our personal lives. Let me give you...

I love the story of Moses. In Exodus 16 we see the people of Israel complaining to Moses and Aaron. Verse 3 states, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this...

I was able to attend Celebrate Life at Olivet Nazarene University May 10 -12. Todd directed the Bible Quizzing and I officiated. I love watching teenagers display how much Scripture they have hidden in their hearts. But that wasn’t even close to all there was to see!...

Ephesians 4:2-6 says, “Be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were...

In Mark 4, Jesus tells the disciples several parables to show them what the Kingdom of God is like. Then verses 35 and 36 say, “That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, ‘Let us go over to the other side.’ Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along,...

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” – Genesis 1:1. God is known by different names, one of those is Elohim. Elohim is a name of strength and power. Elohim is the infinite, all-powerful God who shows by His works that He is the creator, sustainer,...

He is Risen Indeed! Did you know that you can celebrate Easter for more than one Sunday? In the liturgical (public worship) calendar, the 50 days between Easter and Pente-cost Sundays are called Eastertide. Easter Sunday (of course!) celebrates Jesus’ resurrection. It...

In the 11th chapter of John we read the story of Lazarus. Lazarus was a dear friend of Jesus. After Lazarus dies his sister, Martha, told Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Martha knew and believed that Jesus had the power to save her...

Last weekend, I had the privilege, along with several other ladies from HCC to attend our Wisconsin District Ladies Retreat. It is a blessing to share a weekend with Godly Sisters. We laugh, we cry, we eat too much chocolate! But more importantly, we have worship and...

Obedience — Last week, we saw God move in a mighty way at Hope Community. We saw God show up and stir people’s hearts as we were challenged to say yes to God, even if we don’t know what we are saying yes to, or even if we do not know all the details. I have found in...

Service – The action of helping someone. What does this look like to Christians? 1 Corinthians 3:9, “For we are co-workers in God’s service.” 1 Corinthians 12:5 tells us, “There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.” The Word tells us that we are...

Hope. This is a word that I have been thinking about quite a bit this week. It is in the name our church, Hope Community. It is a vital part of the life of a believer as we have faith that God is in control and hope for the things to come promised in Scripture. It is...

Why do we give up something for Lent? Some say that the answer lies in Luke 9:23 (Jesus talking) “Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” It’s about self-denial, carrying our cross...

I’ve been thinking a lot about prayer as we approach our Wisconsin District “Houses of Prayer” week February 12-16. I sincerely hope you will pray for revival beginning with yourself. Then allow God to broaden your horizons as you pray for your family, our church, our...

Jeremiah 29:11-13 tells us, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find...

Last week Pastor Doug shared from Joshua 24 and asked us, “Who are you going to choose to serve?” This reminded that in 2016 when I read the Bible through chronologically I realized how many of the kings of Israel did not lead them in true worship. Hezekiah was one of...

In Joshua chapter 24, we see the covenant renewed at Shechem. In Genesis 12 God made a covenant with Abraham and then told him to go “to the land I will show you.” Shechem is the place where the Lord appeared to Abraham and told him that to his offspring “I will give...

This has been a difficult week. We have two friends that were hospitalized, one with a brain tumor, the other with a brain aneurism. A high school friend may be losing her mother to cancer and a sepsis infection. Besides these personal difficulties, there is the...

Commitment. You will hear that word often every new year. You will be asked, “What do you want this new year?” “Where do you want to be?” People will ask you to make goals to achieve. Maybe a better question would be, “Where does God want you to be this year?” “Are...