My uncle Gary is nearing the end of his earthly pilgrimage. Hospital rooms and end of life ministry are what the Irish call “thin places” where our earthly realm often bumps up against the heavenly realm. Today, Gary shared something very special. “Last night Mom came to me in my sleep to say hello.” Mom (aka my grandma) is in Heaven, so tears welt up in all of our eyes. … More Uncle Gary’s Southern Accent
“This show is very personal,” I said stepping onto stage wearing a black cowboy shirt with white cowboy hat. “We’re going on a 75 minute journey through the country hits of the 20th century, but more personally, a trip into my childhood memories.” This summer I’m playing the soundtrack of my childhood – literally – with the help of my little cowgirl, Abby. … More Precious Memories
I’m on a solo retreat at the Pepin Forest Treehouse cabin Keri booked for me for my 45th birthday. Feeling a bit nostalgic and retrospective in the treehouse this morning, I stumbled across an old journal entry and poem written by a 23-year old Jeremy just after college. This led me to thinking about aging instruments and Willie Nelson’s guitar. … More My Life Song & Willie’s Guitar
My mom took us three kids to the mall when we were at prime begging age. Mom probably intended to simply return something and come home empty handed. Instead, she came home with a kitten from the mall pet store. That lucky kitten was rescued from bondage, adopted into a new family, and brought into a new realm of life and possibilities. Let’s explore Romans 8:12-17 in this light. … More “Here, Kitty, Kitty!”
I’m writing a field guide for discipleship conversations along the trail. To get in the mood, I’m re-reading Henry David Thoreau’s essay on “Walking.” In 1845 he built himself a hut on the edge of Walden Pond, and lived there in solitude for two years, keeping a journal. He opens with the fascinating origins of the word “saunter.” Check it out! … More The Saunterer
In John 12, Jesus is telling us that life is to be found in the dying and losing process, not on the other side of it or by avoiding it. If you want to bear much fruit spiritually, then you may first need to be broken open, split in two, pressed into hard soil, plowed over by persecution, humbled by the spade that throws loose dirt over the false, airbrushed version of your life. … More Cow Manure and Spiritual Growth
This year Ash Wednesday felt even darker than other years. A service that ends with ashes smeared on your forehead with the words, “From the dust you came, and to dust you shall return,” is always a bit of a downer. But our mortality feels a bit more real, perhaps, after a year that claimed … More Ashes & Oil
On Facebook and Instagram, we’re voluntarily inscribing the details of our lives in a book for the whole world to read. We’re leaving digital footprints in the social media sand that will someday, when we’re gone, reveal a lot about who we were and the kind of life we led. … More Job’s Digital Footprint
4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not … More Sermon: Christmas Hide & Seek
After a short snooze, I awoke. Restless. Nervous. No sign of my family anywhere. I still had no sense of time, and my surroundings still looked altered in some inexplicable way. Familiar and yet strange. Hazy yet somehow clearer than ever before. I tossed and turned, trying to sleep. How could anyone sleep with the … More Cabin 04: Riding Shotgun
“But God…made us alive with Christ….and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:5-7). Ephesians can be broken into two parts where the first 3 … More EPHESIANS 12: Solidarity with Christ is Everything (2:5-7)
Suzi shared this devotional at Keri’s baby shower a while back. Enjoy. Sometimes it would be nice to know the future. Some of the characters in the BIble were given a glimpse of it. In Genesis 15, God promises Abram a son. When none was forthcoming with his wife Sarai, he had a son with … More Raising Children, Honoring God (by Suzi Fox)
Here’s a story from a pastor friend of mine. We both enjoy watching squirrels, though I can’t say I enjoy reading about raising chickens. Enjoy! I was sitting on the outdoor patio of a great little coffee shop in the Swede Hollow neighborhood of St Paul yesterday. I was waiting for a phone call from … More A Squirrel Tale (by David Brown)
Jeremy L. Berg 