Download Life Guide Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. (1 Peter 3:15). These words of the Apostle Peter were ringing in my ears as we visited with Charlie, our taxicab driver. All total, Cindy and I would spend…
Download Life Guide When Lifetouch was here last, the company that did our most recent pictorial directory, the photographer mentioned that they could touch-up my photo. “What do you mean by that?” I asked, rather intrigued? “Can you get rid of these bags beneath my eyes?” “Yes we can.” I was assured. “And how about…
Do you remember a time in your life when you felt like Christmas couldn’t come soon enough? Last week Pastor Raasch talked about the signs of the times. Already as a child, I learned to spot the signs of the coming of Christmas. At church it started with the midweek Advent services, rehearsing Christmas music in choir, and Saturday morning practice for…
Download Life Guide When introducing his study of the Lord’s Prayer, Martin Luther writes: “Our Father in heaven. What does this mean? With these words God tenderly invites us to believe that he is our true Father and that we are his true children, so that we may pray to him as boldly and confidently as dear children ask their dear…
Download Life Guide Do you ever wonder what heaven will be like? How it will look? What we will do there? I ask the question because over the past couple of weeks I’ve gotten a “taste” of heaven. It’s came during the time I’ve spent at our WELS worker training schools – Martin Luther College in New Ulm, MN and Wisconsin…
Download Life Guide Our daughter Carrie was a little more than four years old when the two of us took road trip to attend my uncle’s funeral. On the ride home Carrie chattered away about seeing Grandma and her cousins, but eventually the conversation dropped off. I had assumed that Carrie had fallen asleep until that sweet little voice broke the silence…
How often through the years I’ve imagined the scene of Christ’s birth – the dingy stable, the lowly manger, the swaddling clothes, Mary and Joseph and the shepherds. It is all quite a sight. But I must confess that seldom, if ever have I tried to picture the scene from the Christ-child’s point of view. Oh, I know, he was only a…
In the last ten years or so, I’ve found myself taking more of an interest in my family tree. This interest has led me to genealogical websites, government records and more than a few cemeteries. I must admit that this new-found interest comes with some regrets. Why didn’t I pay more attention to my grandparents…
What sorts of feelings and emotions do these images evoke? A casket. A funeral coach. A cemetery. You may know people who begin to panic at the mere sight of such things. For many people “death” is a most unpleasant topic – one they will avoid at all costs. Maybe you don’t like to think or talk about death. There may be…
I’ll never forget the feeling of cradling our baby girl in my arms just after she was born. She was so tiny, so new. I remember thinking how she had her whole life ahead of her. And though she was only minutes old, my mind was spinning with all the good things I wanted for her, not just in the days and…