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Birth Fears, Redux
By Allison Hull It’s a birthday! Everyone’s excited for the first birthday, right? Can’t wait to see the cake smashing and the icing covered face. Can’t wait to see them try to rip into a present and probably pass out from the sugar coma. Birthdays are supposed to be joyous times filled with eagerness for the years to come. For some moms it’s not all joy. Some births are not always joyous and some are downright scary. As I near a first birthday I’m reminded of that time for me over and over again. And I’m reminded of this article Holly posted in July. https://katieluthersisters.org/2015/07/birth-fears/ When she first wrote it…
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The Many Interwoven Seasons of Womanhood
By Mary Abrahamson Often when we talk about seasons of life, we talk about things like young adulthood, which might include college or single life. Adulthood might include being a wife or mother or being single. It might include being a homemaker and/or having a paying career outside the home. And then perhaps later our children might leave our next empty, but give us grandchildren. And finally retirement. Old age. Perhaps assisted living or full nursing care. And the deathbed. The seasons I’m going to describe are less linear and more universal. My seasons are the kind that occur constantly and repeat throughout our lives regardless of the particular work…
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Stuff Some Rolls in your Purse (on bringing the liturgy home)
By Emily Cook It’s time for the Divine Service! Our Sunday Feast! Here, the gifts of God are poured out in so much abundance that one can hardly take it all in! It’s going to be a party! Oh wait, I have children. Never mind. It’s going to be a battle. If you have children, you know they aren’t exactly interested in taking it all in. They’re not there for the “food,” so to speak. They are their to wave to their friends, to drop the offering with a loud clatter on the floor, to lick the hymnals, and to color on their dress pants. So what’s a mother to…
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Observing Advent with Children
By Amanda Markel The days leading up to Christmas are busy days, and are made even busier for families with small children. It can be easy to lose track of what we’re preparing for, and focus on the more worldly aspects of the Christmas season. But, we also have the gift of the church year, which sets aside the weeks before Christmas as the penitential season of Advent—a time to slow down and reflect on Christ’s coming, both as a baby in Bethlehem, and on His eventual return. You may be wondering how to get your children’s focus off of Santa and gifts and cookies, and on to Christ. There…
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Teaching Children with the Hymnody
By Mary Abrahamson Hymns hold within their lyrics and poetry the truths of Scripture. God, we praise You! God, we bless You! God, we name You sovereign Lord! Mighty King whom angels worship, Father, by Your church adored: All creation shows Your glory, Heav’n and earth draw near Your throne, Singing “Holy, holy, holy, Lord of hosts, and God alone!” ELH 42 Text God, we praise You! God, we bless You! by Christopher Idle©1982 Jubilate Group (admin. Hope Publishing Company). Used by permission. Some hymn are prayers directly to God, and as such, vary as widely as our prayers. We praise God: Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King…
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Gift of the Liturgy for Those with Toddlers
By Bethany Kilcrease Want a greater appreciation for the practicality of liturgical worship? You need a baby and/or toddler — preferably one with a lot of enthusiasm for life who will divert your attention away from the divine service itself. If you don’t have your own toddler, then you can probably borrow one from the harried-looking mother who sits in the back pew (or in the very front in hopes being closer will convince the youngster to pay better attention). I’m sure she’ll be more than happy to loan you one or even two for the next hour or so. And if you ever show up at my church, you…
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Picking the Perfect Lutheran Name
By Vanessa Rasanen The job of naming someone is quite daunting, isn’t it? Sometimes I think Adam sure had it easy. You know, aside from that whole plunging the entire world and all of creation into sin… But really, he gave names to all the creatures and to his wife, and I’m guessing he didn’t have quite the same issue we have today where every other name considered is tainted by some person we’ve met, character we hate, or abominable figure in history. He didn’t have to worry about what initials spelled or whether they rhymed with swear words or embarrassing bodily functions. He just picked a name, and there it…
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Have You Noticed the Change?
By Keri Wolfmueller A prayer request for the Scheer family. “You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.” 2 Corinthians 1:11 Dear Readers, We feel it has become time to share with you an important event happening in the life of this blog’s creator and Editor, Holly Scheer. Perhaps you have noticed a change around here. Maybe there hasn’t been the consistency you’ve come to expect. Maybe you’ve noticed there are fewer posts. Does it seem a bit disorganized? There is a reason. Holly has another vocation aside from the Editor…
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A Mother’s Confession
By Vanessa Rasanen This morning I failed. Despite every effort to tackle those few hours of solo-parenting with grace and love and patience, I was running around like a banshee. The kids — though dressed, fed, and happy — weren’t listening. They were outright ignoring me, disobeying, and breaking the fourth left and right. And I was flipping out. The playroom was a pit. The roast needed to get in the slow cooker. The dogs needed to be kenneled. One kid needed water. One needed help opening the sippy cup. Another needed a diaper change. And my coffee — my poor, sad, neglected coffee — was cold. I was running…
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Fun Reformation Activities for Children
By Keri Wolfmueller If you need a craft project or fun activity to use with your child you probably google it, and Pinterest and the like have a million ideas ready for you to go! There is one topic I have found very little on and yet it is oh so important in the Lutheran church, the Reformation! As an Early Childhood Educator and mother of four, I’ve done a little brain storming and thought I’d share a few ideas. Hope they help. Have a Blessed Reformation! My favorite creation, a song about Martin Luther, to the tune of Zacchaeus: Luther was a brave little man, and a brave…
