Holy Week teaches us to order our days according to Christ, around Christ, in Christ. That is the cherry on top of the suffering-death-resurrection cake. Because during Holy Week, we learn to clear our schedules, to plan life around Divine Services, to leave church with the words, “See you here tomorrow!” on our lips. It’s the week that we buy special dresses and special hats, new … Continue reading teaching time

I have a lot of pet peeves. People who park their shopping carts in the middle of the grocery store aisle. Loud cell phone talkers. Melodramatic moms. The non-word “irregardless.” The way the flat iron works on one half of my hair but not the other. Unnecessarily personal question-askers. I could go on for days. Obviously. Whatever commandment involves being annoyed, that one’s my favorite to break. … Continue reading pet peeves and why I love them

I started getting snobby about sermons in seventh grade. My parents drove us an hour to an LCMS church one Sunday to hear a new, young pastor they’d read about in the newspaper. And half of what he preached didn’t make sense. So naturally, we went back. And then back again. And pretty soon, we were driving there every week. But every Sunday, we were also leaving church horribly confused. … Continue reading a treasure chest