-
Fear Not the Foe
By Holly Scheer 0 little flock, fear not the Foe Who madly seeks your overthrow; Dread not his rage and power. What though your courage sometimes faints, His seeming triumph o’er God’s saints Lasts but a little hour. Death is coming for us all. Unless the Second Coming arrives before the end of our days– we will all die. That little baby sleeping sweetly in your arms, your grandparent, your spouse, you, me– all of us. Death is coming closer daily. But Death is not the end, sister. Death is an end, but it is the end of our suffering and separation from God. Death has been overcome by Jesus–…
-
Children’s Book for Divine Service Review
By Bethany Kilcrease As my daughter’s first baptismal birthday was approaching earlier this month, I decided to find a gift by perusing the Concordia Publishing House website. The new book Whisper, Whisper: Learning about Church by Mary Moerbe caught my eye. My now nearly 13-month old daughter is a human dynamo. We like to say she is “enthusiastic about life.” Getting her to remain sort of silent and relatively still in the pew entails so much physical exertion that I generally break into a sweat and figure I can skip the gym later. Obviously I’m on the look out for age-appropriate books to introduce her to the Divine Service and…
-
Birth Fears
By Holly Scheer Having a new baby is exciting. Announcing to friends, to family, to the congregation, that a new little person will be joining the family is a joy. With this joy there can be fear, though. Fear of the unknown for the first time mother, fears of the somewhat known for the mother who has been there, done that, especially if things were really hard. This fear isn’t a new one, sister. Childbirth through history has been a dangerous undertaking for women– and their babies. In some parts of the world, it still is. You aren’t alone in this, either. God has promised to never forsake and leave…
-
Wedding Bloopers
By Amanda Markel Let me tell you a funny story about my wedding. In the months and weeks leading up to the big day, my almost-husband and I worked diligently with our pastor on the service. Of course, we were using the standard wedding rite from the hymnal, but there were gaps to be filled in with Bible readings, hymns, and instrumental music. The pastor had suggestions, but we had to choose the final details. And, after reading through many Bible readings and hymns, and listening to lots of music, we had all the decisions made, and were ready to have the bulletins printed. I can’t tell you how…
-
Narrator-mothers
By Emily Cook Sometimes, serving one’s neighbor means doing things out loud. I remember, before children, when I would make dinner in silence. I just did what had to be done, and I didn’t explain myself to anyone. Now, when I make dinner, I prattle on and on: “Move, honey, so mama can get the pot out. Look, I’m filling it up with water. We will wait for it to boil, then we’ll add the yummy pasta. Do you want to watch me cut the carrots? Maybe you can help me put them on the plate when I’m done. One, two, three, four carrots. Yum, carrots. Should we cut some…
-
Comfort for Those Tending to the Lord’s Littlest Sheep, Part 3
By Keri Wolfmueller Tricks of the Trade and Quiet Activities for Young Children Thanks for joining the conversation about having children in church! Please see Part 1 and Part 2. I’m just as normal as you. However, I’m going to boldly assert a “Top Ten” list of helpful things to know and practice when you have little ones with you in church. This is not the Ten Commandments. This list holds no value regarding your salvation. You therefore are free. Every parent is unique and sets their own standards of what is acceptable for their child. Every child is unique. Some respond to discipline. Some respond to rewards. Some naturally aim…
-
The Wedding
By Pam Thompson It was a destination beach wedding. Our extended family was enjoying ourselves after our sister’s beach wedding, and we observed several more nuptials as the day went on. This one, the last one of the day, was so very similar to all of the others. . . . But then something was different. Something was off. After the requisite photos had been taken, the bride and groom were not returning to the wedding party. They were stalling, a lot. We observers on the beach commented on how “very rude” the couple was being. As we witnessed staff person after staff person walking back and forth between the…
-
The Loneliness As We Sit Together
By Vanessa Rasanen Last week I wrote about hope. This week so much of that hope is gone. Even when I’m able to spend 5, 10, 30 minutes focused on a project or helping one of my children get dressed or giving them a bath or rocking them to sleep, it doesn’t take long for this painful reality to come and smack me in the face again. Our baby’s dead. Not even alive long enough for his or her heart to start beating. Dead. Gone. And as if that knowledge wasn’t difficult enough as it is… there is the physical reminder, the discomfort, the pain, and the visible evidence of…
-
Father’s Day for Christians
By Holly Scheer The history of Father’s Day is interesting. Until this year, I’d never really sat and looked up when and why it started. From what I’ve read, there was an isolated Father’s Day celebration in 1908, but the holiday really formed in 1910, started by a woman to honor her father who as a single parent raised six children. It was held on a Sunday, the date chosen by when the pastor could get his sermons written. You can read more about it here. Father’s Day can be tricky for the reasons outlined by the incredible Sister’s post we featured on Mother’s Day. “Growing up I dreaded…
-
No Assembly Required
By Vanessa Rasanen I am an expert at crib assembly. Each new baby and each move has meant tearing down and reassembling that piece of furniture, to the point that I’ve now gotten so much practice in the process I can put it together by myself without injuring the toddlers who are “helping” me by being completely in the way. And it looks like I’ll be assembling some new baby furniture in the near future. This weekend brought my family the blessed news we are expecting another baby. This in turn brought a whole slew of emotions from joy and worry to anxiety and hope. This hope of a…
