I will never forget when the Gulf War began. I was scheduled to speak for a women’s group in a church near Lake Mills, IA. I wondered how they could possibility concentrate on my message when there was so much national insecurity and fear. So, I scrapped my prepared topic and focused on what was […]
The preface page in White Hyacinths, one of my favorite books by Elbert Hubbard, cites a simple quote, “If I had but two loaves of bread I would sell one of them and buy White Hyacinths to feed my soul.” I am so intrigued by that quote. It entices me to ponder the question, how […]
Every noon when I cover for Allison, our amazing administrative assistant, the 2nd graders coming in from recess always crowd around the desk and ask me to give them “the word of the day.” It is fun to opt for an obscure word that makes them think and encourages them to stretch their vocabulary. Today, […]
Last week, the Cedar Valley communities were saddened to learn of the death of Rev. Don Feuerhak. When we first came to this area, I saw the retirement notice of a pastor from Fredsville, IA whose name was Rev. Don Feuerhak. I gasped as I saw the resemblance to my dad. Don was my cousin-once-removed. […]
They stood in attention, these young lives who barely understood the concept of death. But they knew it was a solemn moment. When did they learn what a hearse was, that led the cars forming a string of slow silent sentinels on wheels, weaving their way to the cemetery? For the past several years at […]
Last Sunday, my husband, our daughter, and I waited in line for one hour to greet the grieving husband and children of a teacher who I had worked with in Forest City Schools. She was beloved. She was a friend. She was also our daughter’s 5th grade teacher. When we got to the husband, Wayne, […]
The 2nd grade led our Worship this week. The theme was based on Matthew 5:1-12, The Beatitudes. Each child recited a “blessed are…” with pictures and descriptions to depict the meaning of each verse. Then Pastor Cory Smith from Redeemer Lutheran spoke. He told the children he wanted to focus on one particular verse… “Blessed […]
It was a simple question. As they walked down the hall hand-in-hand in our school this week, little Zephan asked Ben, a visiting seminarian from Hungary, how Ben spelled his father’s name. Ben gently replied, “My father’s name is Tamás. He spells it T-a-m-á-s.” Then Ben asked the same question to Zephan, “How do you […]
Pastor John Ortberg was serving a large congregation in Chicago. He mentored with a friend and asked for some spiritual direction as he was dealing with the pace of life in his current ministry. His friend slowly replied, “Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.” John Ortberg thanked him, told him he had written that down […]
As I begin my descent to retirement, I decided not to worry about repeating any story or quote that I may have used before in these musings called Principally Speaking. Perhaps I find myself repeating those things, those metaphors, that are my most precious guides to living life. Viktor Frankl is one of those precious guides […]
