I've been trying to work first and then rest (or collapse as the case may be), when it's best to begin with rest so that I can work well. When I work from my rest, things are less stressful. There is a carryover of joy from rest to work. It's scriptural, too…

I turned on my computer to write this article and, of course, had to make sure first and foremost that Facebook didn't have anything important happening. Wouldn't you know it, the meme on the opening screen said this: Tradition is just peer pressure from dead people. My first thought was, "That's a terrible thing to sayl" My second thought was, "What's wrong with learning from those who went before us?”…

This whole year we have been thinking about stewardship and what it means to be given the role of stewards for God. We've looked back at Gen 1: 28-30 where God established that mankind would "have dominion" over creation and how that means that we have been asked to manage all that is needed for this world to keep going. We therefore strive to care about air, soil, and water qualities as well as the people, plants, and animals around us. In addition, we interpret that the "treasures" of time, wealth, and health are also resources given to us to manage so that all might live. That, however, is not the complete list of what God has placed in our hands—there's something subtle we often overlook.

I recently read an article, titled, "Eating with Reverence", that looked at food production from our perspective as Christians. It talked about the history of agriculture, and how all our farm land was once just "wild" land like that garden in Genesis. We know the local history of the Great Black Swamp, a wild land with rich soil. Our forefathers cleared and drained, tiled and planted, until and still within God's grace, it now sustains many…

Drive through any town and you'll see signs that say, "NOW HIRING! APPLY WITHIN!" My first response typically is, "Already got a job, thanks!" The truth is that in addition to the ministry work I do within the Church, I also have another job that is of longer duration and much wider scope. It's the job of stewardship and it comes with being whose I am. And it's a job I share with each one of you.

One of my favorite Christmas hymns is not in the “top ten” although it comes with huge credentials. It’s a poem written by the gifted 19th century poet, Christina Rosetti, with musician by the great Scandinavian composer, Gustav Hoist. Something about how the tune and words come together to evoke the reality of this world and how we, as God’s people, respond to it is so beautiful. It’s the ending words that impact me most, especially as the Christmas holidays turn into a new year, come as we know it will…with