-
Contentment in Christ
By Holly Scheer When I was younger I thought a major goal in life was happiness. Primarily my own happiness. The choices I made, the ideas I pursued, and the friends I kept were in line with what I thought at the time would make me happy– even if it was bad for me. And those around me. But happiness is fleeting. Self absorbed happiness is even more so. Life has had many joys and sorrows for me in adulthood. There has been the joy of marriage, of children born and reborn in the waters of Baptism, of friends who point me to Christ. But there has also been death…
-
Preparing for Birth Surprises
By Vanessa Rasanen There’s something that happens to moms after birth. On one hand we somehow forget — perhaps with some time — the aches, the pain, the anxiety, and all the less-than-fun aspects of pregnancy and birth. On the other hand we rarely forget the key points of those blessed days. While we may not remember every little detail, no amount of mom-brain and no amount of sleep-deprivation can erase the memories of where we were, what we were doing, and how long we labored for those sweet little ones to enter our arms. My memory certainly isn’t what it used to be in my pre-mom days, yet I…
-
How Do I Handle My Guilt Over Choosing Public Schools?
By Mary Abrahamson “Dear Sisters of Katie Luther, We have made the difficult choice of having our children in public school rather than the local Lutheran school. Though we catechize regularly in our home, we feel inundated with warnings not to trust our children to secular teaching. Despite all the time, energy, and prayer we put into this decision, I am still wracked with incredible guilt. Help?” Dear sister, my most basic answer for almost any maternal guilt is this: think long term. Your primary vocation is to educate your children unto Salvation. This does not happen overnight, nor is there any one way that is more sanctified than others. There are…
-
When Christians Let You Down
By Vanessa Rasanen We Christians are the light of the world and the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:13-14). As such we are to show Jesus to those around us, to live out our lives as testimonies to the amazing grace He bestows, and to help others hear His Word and receive this saving faith of the Holy Spirit. Funny thing about us, Christians, though. We kinda suck at it. We pretty much muck everything up (just like everyone else). Though clothed in the righteousness of Christ, while we walk this earth we are yet still sinners – plagued by our Old Adam who beckons us to come and play. Bottom…
-
Article XXVIII: Of Ecclesiastical Power (continued)
… continued from yesterday. 34] But concerning this question it is taught on our part (as has been shown above) that bishops have no power to decree anything against the Gospel. The Canonical Laws teach the same thing (Dist. IX). 35] Now, it is against Scripture to establish or require the observance of any traditions, to the end that by such observance we may make satisfaction for sins, or merit grace and righteousness. 36] For the glory of Christ’s merit suffers injury when, by such observances, 37] we undertake to merit justification. But it is manifest that, by such belief, traditions have almost infinitely multiplied in the Church, the doctrine concerning faith and the righteousness of faith being…
-
Article XXVIII: Of Ecclesiastical Power
1] There has been great controversy concerning the Power of Bishops, in which some have awkwardly confounded the power of the Church 2] and the power of the sword. And from this confusion very great wars and tumults have resulted, while the Pontiffs, emboldened by the power of the Keys, not only have instituted new services and burdened consciences with reservation of cases and ruthless excommunications, but have also undertaken to transfer the kingdoms of this world, 3] and to take the Empire from the Emperor. These wrongs have long since been rebuked in the Church 4] by learned and godly men. Therefore our teachers, for the comforting of men’s consciences, were constrained to show the difference…
-
Prayer
By Mary Abrahamson Today at work I was unexpectedly asked to join two of my coworkers in praying with them. A man who just started working at our facility a week ago has a son who experienced a medical emergency last week, and his condition is ongoing. So this man, a brand new employee, understandably has his mind and even sometimes his whole self, elsewhere than his new job. What a situation! Imagine the combined worry of your son’s health and the tenuous nature of a new job! Because my coworkers are both Christian people, they wanted to pray together for this man and his son. And because they knew…
-
Having Kids in a Broken and Scary World
By Vanessa Rasanen Parenting is an awesomely hard gig somedays. Amidst the laughs and fun we have our share of messes and frustrations, tears and fights. But above all it’s the worry that wears me the most thin. If I claimed to never fear or worry about what life will bring for our children, it’d be a total lie. Then the news hits. Another atrocity. More heartache somewhere for someone. And I struggle to block it all out so I don’t completely fall apart and fail to be a wife and mom. Inevitably the question comes up… “Why have kids at all when the world is so awful?” And shamefully I admit it…
-
Depths
By Mary J. Moerbe My family went on an outing to an aquarium and we marveled at God’s creation. A part of creation, mind you, that human eyes rarely see. Even to this day, there are depths unexplored and discoveries to be made. The wonders we saw reminded me that in a very real sense God made creation for Himself. He may have delights in creation we are utterly unaware of: sights, sounds, and textures known only to Himself. Yet, they are not withheld from us. They only await discovery. In Scripture, there is depth to the sea and depth to the earth. A quick survey indicates that the faithful…
-
Good Friends For The Day
By Debra-Lynn Swearingen Words between sobs are difficult to understand. Substitute teaching for elementary children gives me practice. On a regular basis, a little girl comes to me crying over the way her friend is treating her. In order to mediate I point to an overall desire for kindness and inclusion. And like most teachers dealing with childhood drama, I attempt to force reconciliation so the class can move forward. Sometimes it’s successful, sometimes not. Either way, I remain convinced that growing up female is fraught with friendship woe. You don’t have to look far beyond the school playground to find that women hold an idealized view of friendship. In fact, we…
