Labor Day weekend ushers in fall here in Portland, Oregon. It amazes me every year how abruptly the weather changes. The heat of summer gives way to cooler days and nights, the leaves that have been falling in our yard, brown and shriveled, because of how dry it is, suddenly are beginning to change color—splashes of red and the less dramatic yellow are appearing. Josh, the meteorologist on KOIN 6 news, delights in explaining to us what happens here during the month of Septemb

This blog was a journal entry Michael Miller found recently that he wrote many years ago but that continues to be pertinent to him today and offers us all a different perspective on what repentance really means. I am sitting in a mostly empty plane coming into Denver. Jeanette is flying back from Aberdeen with Maia, and I am going to meet her and surprise her and help with the baby and luggage. I have been thinking lately about sins that are committed repeatedly. We all have

Our blog today comes to us from Barbara Esselink, sharing her insights on forgiveness and the family patterns that affect our lives. Every so often (quite often actually!), my husband will do or say something that will cause me to say “you’re brilliant!” or “that’s amazing!” And my younger son has this funny habit of then promptly asking me, “ Is that the reason you married him?” As if there was only ONE main reason I married him! My son is always on the quest to find out the

{Our post today was written by Laurence Dunn, proud granddad.} Recently we attended our granddaughter’s wedding in Austin, Texas. It was a very moving ceremony, and, despite the heat and humidity, I enjoyed it immensely. To watch our new grandson weep as he listened to his wife-to-be’s words over the intercom before she walked in; to listen to them share the vows they had written to each other; to watch their faces as they took their first communion together—it was so beautif

The church is empty except for me, and it isn't really empty at all. It's early in the morning, and the only light comes from a single candle and the gray wash of dawn through a stained-glass window I can't quite make out yet... just shapes, blues and reds waiting for the sun to give them back their color. I've lit the incense. I watch it catch, watch the first curl of smoke lift off the incense and hang in the cold air like it's deciding whether to stay. Then it rises. It al

{Our blog today comes from local businessman and music pastor Michael Smith who knows busyness firsthand!} What is this life if, full of care, We have no time to stand and stare. - Leisure, William Henry Davies He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside still waters, He restores my soul… - Psalm 23 Busy. The word itself sounds like bees, ever-buzzing, ever-toiling in the bustling hive. Bizz-ee. Say it out loud. It’s obnoxious. As if it’s trying

Sometimes the Spirit shows up in our lives unexpectedly. Sometimes the Spirit comes in response to an intentional invitation. Such was our experience one day last week. Our church has begun a tradition of having prayer meetings during the summer when our regular home meetings are not happening. We call these meetings “Make Space for God” -- a curious title that leaves lots of space for creativity! Last week, we began our evening with some worship songs and then our pastor rea

This blog post comes to us from our dear friend, Jenell Kemhus I recently experienced a short season of waiting. I was waiting to hear if I was going to make a major life change; to go from stay at home mom of 15 years, to a full time teacher. Spoiler alert, I did not get the job I was applying for, no major life change yet. For reasons out of my control, the decision making process took an abnormal amount of time. So while I was waiting, I was trying my best to be content.

This story comes to us from our amazing high school writer, Maia Miller:) Three years ago I began my journey at a giant high school where I knew almost nobody, not realizing the amazing ways the Holy Spirit would work through my life during my years there. I am somebody who tends not to realize the ways that the Holy Spirit is working through my life at the moment but many months after the fact I will see how he has been working. As I was reflecting on the past three years I

The newly appointed apostles have just completed a heady trip--sent out by Jesus to preach the good news of the Kingdom, call people to repent, and with authority to cast out evil spirits and heal the sick. They are interrupting one another as they share their amazing experiences. “Hold it,” the Master says laughing. “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Mark 6:31 “Rest? When we are just discovering the joy of ministering?” The word translated her

Our blog today is written by Nehemiah Vice as he reflects on his journey from high school through his first year at college. Psalm 139: 7 & 12 “Where shall I go from your spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?... even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.” Has your future ever looked dark? So gloomy that nothing can bring you out of the pit of despair, not even your closest loved ones? Well, the Holy Spi

(Our blog today comes from our precious friend, Laurie, who is learning how to find God's presence in her ordinary day and is inviting you to join her.) Don’t let your biggest regret in life be that you were always in a hurry. That has been a problem for me most of my life. I wrote this poem in July 2025 during new discoveries I was making about God and myself through spiritual direction. Searching in the Shadows, Drowning in the Depths Sometimes I feel like He is: In the

The fire has come! The Spirit has been given! What happens next? What did the Spirit’s indwelling them mean to those early Christians? What does it mean for us today? It all began long ago, long before the earth was even created. The Spirit was breathing on the waters. The Spirit was part of the Godhead as the decision was made: “Let us make man in our image”. The Spirit was the breath, as they breathed on the man they had made--Spirit to spirit-- and so life began. All throu

God, investigate my life; get all the facts first hand. I’m an open book to You; even from a distance you know what I'm thinking. You know when I leave and when I get back; I'm never out of your sight. You know everything I'm going to say before I start the first sentence. I look behind me and you're there, then up ahead and you're there, too— your reassuring presence, coming and going. This is too much, too wonderful— I can't take it all in! Is there any place I

Beginnings Start with Endings I love to travel. I count myself incredibly fortunate to have had amazing opportunities over the years to journey to beautiful places, meet extraordinary people, and immerse myself in new experiences. I often say that I absolutely love going places, but I dislike leaving. Of course, I realize these actions happen at the same time. One cannot go anywhere without also leaving someplace behind. Still, there is grief in packing the suitcase to leav

We know what the disciples were doing in those ten days between the Ascension and Pentecost. Luke tells us they were huddled together in an upper room, praying, waiting, bewildered but obedient. A hundred and twenty of them, watching the door, watching the sky, watching each other. Waiting for something Jesus called "the promise of the Father" without quite knowing what that meant. But I have spent years turning a different question over in my mind. In doctoral seminars, in q

“How long was it,” I asked Dom as we considered continuing to blog after writing about the Jesus’ resurrection, “how long was it between Jesus' resurrection and his ascension?” “Forty days,” he replied 40 days? WOW! That’s nearly 6 weeks! “So,” I asked Jesus, “what were You doing during those 40 days?” Nearly a third of each Gospel focuses on the week leading up to Jesus’ death, underscoring how central the cross is to our Christian faith. But it raises a question: why the fo

Seven miles is an agonizing walk when your world collapses. The disciples on the Emmaus road simply put one foot in front of the other, moving away from where everything went wrong. They spoke in the hushed tones of people unsure they would survive the recent trauma. We had hoped he was the one. An ocean of loss exists in those six words. They mourned a future they believed God authored. This was a promised redemption they staked their lives upon, destined to end in glory unt

Our post today is written by Barbara Esselink, a fan of Simon Peter. Peter is my most favorite person in the Bible. Of all the people in the Bible, I relate the most to who I imagine Peter to be. Passionate, hotheaded, speaking and reacting to emotion before thinking, loyal, determined, persistent—- these are all things I understand well. He loved Jesus so much, but still his humanity got the better of him. In his sin and weakness, Peter turned away from Jesus at one of his d

It was still dark-- a darkness that seemed to be never ending. Only a few days before, these brave women who had followed Jesus from Galilee had stood near the cross watching in anguish and dismay as their beloved friend hung, apparently helpless against the powers of both Rome and the Jewish religious leaders. The sky had darkened as they watched. And then, a sword was thrust in his side and he was pronounced dead. The impossible had happened. With him, their hope for a diff