Faith

On Valentine's Day last week, a friend's Facebook status touted her belief in love but refusal to celebrate a "holiday" marked mostly by the artificiality of chocolate kisses, bright-red hearts and cupids. I agree with what's behind her sour-candy sentiments, and in years past, have...

2015 was another year of global tragedy on a massive scale; a perusal of newspaper headlines proclaim the top tragedies include the earthquake in Nepal that killed almost 9,000, the terrorist attacks in Paris, ongoing attacks and massacres by ISIS and Boko Haram, the war in Yemen...

Norman Cates shared the humorous story of a guy who prayed this prayer every morning: "Lord, if you want me to witness to someone today, please give me a sign to show me who it is."

The woman sitting next to me on the plane either must have thought me mad or, at the very least, wondered about the book I held that had procured such pervasive highlighting. Page after page, the underlines, notes and dog-eared folds were coming. It had not started this way. At the...

About a month after she was born, World War I broke out. She'd lived through 17 presidents and 10 popes, and outlived most of the people she'd known in her long years. Married to my grandfather, Joseph, for 38 years, she then lived another 38 as a widow. The pastor at Grandma's funeral...

Each passing year, I find the Christmas season more packed with meaning and emotion of every kind. This was no less true this year as I savored the anticipatory days leading up to Christmas, desiring to take it all in slowly and purposefully. This mindset led me straight into a mini-meltdown...

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John 1:14 You've probably heard someone say, "Let's flesh this idea out." When someone says that, they're trying to formulate a real-world...

The last time we visited, we tried celebrating her 101st birthday. When Mom called to make reservations, the restaurant even promised a cake to mark the event. But Grandma would have none of it. She just closed her eyes and pretended she was elsewhere. When I tried to coax her...

The sugarplums have begun dancing in my head. Only this holiday season, they're wearing a bit of a mischievous grin. As they bow and curtsy so cutely, I'm reminded of a sin I'd chosen for years to ignore: gluttony. I'm likely not alone in having blissfully overlooked this sinister...

There is a story about a Christian man who would walk to his bedroom window before going to bed each night, look out and up to the heavens, and in a simple prayer, ask: "Tonight, Lord?" Then he closed the curtains and went to bed. Each morning he would walk to the same window, open...

Wadena United Methodist Church to have 'Hanging of the Greens' service The annual "Hanging of the Greens" service will be held at 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 29 at the Wadena United Methodist Church, 23 SE Dayton Ave. During this candlelight service, there is carol singing and reflection...