I am linking up for the Five Minute Friday. The FMF is hosted by Kate Motaung on her blog Heading Home. Today’s prompt is “collect” We would love to have you join us. Just hop onto Twitter on Thursday evenings and follow the #fmfparty. Hope to see you there. 


150 different stories, full of vulnerability, grace and love, collected over time. 

150 lives connected on the Internet and now intertwined through a writing community found online. 
And now 150 writers posts collected into one single book “A Five Minute Friday” book.

I cannot wait to hold mine in my hands and glance at the different names that are now friends and engrained into my heart and soul. 

A collection of words
A collection of lives
A collection of five minute Friday free writes.

A collection weaved together through words collected over time and space.

A collection that tells the story of how God connects us together.

I don’t know about you, but my life is so much richer because of the friends I have collected over the years. At seminary. At camp, Through social media. Places that challenge and bless me. Places that teach me what it means to collect love in this world. “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” 

A love that continues to collect in this broken world and breaks in to try and shatter the violence.

A love that teaches us to cry out to God “How long O Lord” in this broken world.

A love that pulls together all the pieces of brokenness and pieces them back together again.

A love that embodies what it means to be connected as beloved children of God.

(1) A Vox from KA

(2) A text from my friend saying I was in her Living Lutheran magazine.

(3) A Vox from TM

(4) Supper and a great night of conversation with EG and GG

(5) A hug

(6) The gift of my dear Twitter peeps

(7) Return of my Blue Apron boxes

(8) My sissy buying me a present while at the BS concert in Fargo. Thanks sis!

(9) Third Grade Bible Blessing

(10) Return of my shows

(11) Texting with MW

(12) Texting with STM

(13) A PLN!!!

(14) Leftovers sent home with me. Thanks EG!

(15) The return of Fall

Sunday Blessings will be taking a hiatus during the month of October while I participate in the Write 31 Days challenge. I’ll keep a months long list on my phone and post in November!

I grew up on Lutheran hotdishes and liturgically coordinated Jello.
I grew up on Christmas pageants and Christmas eve candlelight services.
I grew up on Sunday School, and Confirmation and Luther League.

And then, I decided to go to seminary.

At seminary, my view of how I saw Lutheran was reshaped. During my seminary days, there were several international students from Namibia, Ghana, Rwanda and so many other places. Of course, growing up in ND, I didn’t have a ton of friends or acquaintances who were from another state; let alone another country. But when I went to seminary and moved away from ND, these dear seminary friends taught me so much about God’s grace and about justice.

I remember sitting and breaking bread with Esther and her children. I loved trying the food from her country and learning her families stories. I also remember sitting around our lunch table and John sharing about being in Rwanda during the genocide. Tears streamed down my face as I listened to John speak. I wanted to protect him from all harm and keep him safe. As I sat and listened to these dear new friends, my heart was opened once again to the power of letting love win.

Then in 2009, our church voted to allow LGTBQ individuals to be ordained in this church (the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America). In my humble opinion, it was long overdue. I recall sitting on our porch, tears streaming down my sister’s face as she asked “Why won’t people accept him for who he is?” My sister was talking about her dear friend who is gay. There are still many who have a hard time accepting this reality.

The truth is that I love this church (the ELCA), but I also know that we can do better. While at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly, I met some incredible leaders in this church; Jason, Tuhina, Priscilla and Megan to name a few. Each of them has helped open my eyes to how we need to be better about making this church more diverse and welcoming to all God’s people. And it is because of their call for us to wake up that I think their #decolonizelutheranism movement is important in this day and age. (To learn more about this movement, check out their website here!)

It is important because not all of us grew up on Lutheran hot dish or attended Luther League. As Lutherans, we are simultaneously saint and sinners in need of God’s grace. So it is important for us to acknowledge where we have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. It is important because this world is diverse and needs to be celebrated in this world.

My friends, like I stated earlier, I love being a Lutheran. But I also believe and know that we can do better!

Two weeks worth….

(1) A fun note from my friend SA

(2) Lots of texts and messages asking if the picture in Living Lutheran is of me and indeed it is!

(3) Compliments on my new LuLaRoe Irma.

(4) Playing a fun game with KH, KL, AB and PD.

(5) #SlateSpeak and #FMFparty

(6) A postcard from Aunt N when she was on her Europe trip.

(7)Husker win!!!

(8) A gorgeous pink sky

(9) A great Rally Sunday

(10) A great day for a drive

(11) Baby time with Zane

(12) Visiting with dear friends

(13) Salt water taffy from Medora

(14) A sweet surprise from a friend

(15) Visiting with colleagues I don’t know very well and getting to know them better.

(16) Finishing the 5K and not walking the whole thing. Finished 29 out of 45 and finished under an hour.

(17) A great nap

(18) Texting with JL

(19) A great first night of Confirmation

(20) My sissy buying me a cd

(21) The new Starbucks chile mocha

(22) An umbrella on a day when it’s pouring rain!

(23) A nice visit with a random stranger at the mall.

(24) MSU Homecoming Parade

(25) Husker football

(26) Some fun finds at Dress Barn and a cute pair of boots at Herbergers

(27) A new MSU tshirt. Thanks KL!

(28) Liz Gilbert’s book Big Magic

(29) Teaching the Bible to 3rd Graders and their families. I may have had way too much fun teaching!

(30) A fantastic PLN

(31) My Twitter peeps (You know who you are!)

(32) The new Archer Farms Apple Cinnamon Trail Mix

(33) Talking to mom

(34) God connecting me to incredible people and reminding me that I’m never alone. There are days that it can be so easy to forget that.

(35) Fall

I am linking up for the Five Minute Friday. The FMF is hosted by Kate Motaung on her blog Heading Home. Today’s prompt is “listen.” We would love to have you join us. Just hop onto Twitter on Thursday evenings and follow the #fmfparty. Hope to see you there. And a little business before I begin today, thanks to all who entered my giveaway of Colleen Mitchell’s book. Gayl Wright, you are the winner!! 


Listen–to pay attention to someone or something in order to hear what is being said, sung, played, etc; used to tell a person to listen to what you are saying; or to hear what someone has said and understand that it is serious, important, or true. 

I lay in bed last night listening to the rain go pitter patter against my window. As I listened, I found myself also trying to block out all the other noise around me. How hard is it to listen when so many other noises are competing for our competition? Yet it’s so important for us to truly listen to one another.

It took me 18 years, 18 years to tell my families story of living with a mental illness. I am the daughter of a woman who daily lives with a mental illness. Yet so often, I find that people don’t listen to stories of mental illness. Many are quick to jump to rash decisions and rash conclusions. Yet it is important for us to listen to one another; to listen to each other’ stories.

Next month is Mental Health Awareness month. This past week was Suicide Prevention week. These are important times for us to listen to those who daily struggle. The truth is that I do not truly know what it is like to live with one of these illnesses. So it is important for me to listen to my family who do daily struggle. 

It is important for us to listen and then to “speak the truth in love” to one another. I am reminded of how we hear the words “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” As beloved children of God, God calls us to open our ears to what is happening around us. It can be so easy to want to talk and jump in, but it seems to me that there is gift in truly listening to one another. 

So let’s lean in close and listen

I am linking up for the Five Minute Friday. The FMF is hosted by Kate Motaung on her blog Heading Home. Today’s prompt is “heal.”. We would love to have you join us. Just hop onto Twitter on Thursday evenings and follow the #fmfparty. Hope to see you there! 


“Healer of our every ill, light of each tomorrow, give us peace beyond our fears, and hope beyond our sorrow.”

Tears streamed down my face yesterday as I sat with friends and colleagues at a prayer service in regards to Standing Rock and Dakota Access Pipeline. I understand why our Native American brothers and sisters are protecting our water and their sacred land. They have every right too. Yet I also can’t help but think of our highway patrol and police officers especially since a friend is one of those very men called to protect. 

“Healer of our every ill, light of each tomorrow, give us peace beyond our fears, and hope beyond our sorrow.”

My heart is weary as I’ve watched this all unfold. As a camp counselor, I got to participate in a day camp on this very reservation, I learned so much about the Native American culture that week. But even more, I felt an even deeper connection as we learned each other’s stories and got to know one another. One of my favorite memories was sitting and singing songs together. 

“Healer of our every ill, light of each tomorrow, give us peace beyond our fears, and hope beyond our sorrow.”

As a baptized child of God, claimed in the waters of Baptism, I believe we are called to “love each other as we love ourselves.” Each day, we use water–to drink, for our showers, etc…a daily reminder that we are cleansed in those very waters of Baptism. 

*”Healer of our every ill, light of each tomorrow, give us peace beyond our fears, and hope beyond our sorrow.”

A ruling is expected to come sometime today from the judge. And so I find myself, clinging to these words from the hymn Healer of Our Every Ill. 

“Healer of our every ill, light of each tomorrow, give us peace beyond our fears, and hope beyond our sorrow.”