This is my final blog post related to Henry Nowen’s wonderful book, The Return of the Prodigal Son. If you have been reading my blog for the past month or so, you know that I have been spending time with Nowan’s book and its deep dive into Rembrandt’s painting–and the parable itself. I have really…… Continue reading Grief, Forgiveness, Generosity
Category: Family
Finding Home
This is the second post I wanted to share with some reflections sparked by Henri Nowen’s The Return of the Prodigal Son, and today, I want to combine a few threads that all wind together, with their roots in the book—but we’ll see if they come out as more than a tangled mess. Let’s start…… Continue reading Finding Home
A Day of Celebration & Friendship
With the members of Irbiling Church, Ketumbeini parish Sunday was a fantastic, full day, and it will be hard to do it justice. We started our day worshiping at Irbiling Lutheran Church, which is one of the congregations of Ketumbeini parish. It is a small, rural Maasai congregation that worships in a traditional Maasai style,…… Continue reading A Day of Celebration & Friendship
Building Relationships over Time
Our group with Bethany & Steve Friberg This morning, we went out to the Ketumbeini Medical Clinic that is owned by the ELCT, and is run by missionary Steve Friberg. He has been here doing this work for over 20 years, and it was very interesting to hear about the changes he has seen in…… Continue reading Building Relationships over Time
The Maasai Girls Lutheran Secondary School
At the entrance to the school Today we spent the day at the Maasai Girls Lutheran Secondary School (MGLSS) and it was an absolutely amazing experience to hear the story of the school, the story of the graduates, and to meet some of the girls. This is where Beth first taught 25 years ago, and…… Continue reading The Maasai Girls Lutheran Secondary School
Make America Safe
As most Americans know, former president Donald Trump’s campaign catchphrase was “Make America Great Again.” It is catchy, right? And compelling. Who doesn’t aspire to greatness? Who doesn’t want to live in a great country? World War II veterans and their peers were honored with the title “The Greatest Generation” by Tom Brokaw, who wrote…… Continue reading Make America Safe
Becoming a Time Philanthropist
I’m not a big time-management kind of person. I don’t do a lot of reading about it, and it’s not something I stress about too much. The fact is, I’m at high J [Myers Briggs], and for all my flaws, mismanaging time is not one of them. However, I do follow a blog that is…… Continue reading Becoming a Time Philanthropist
If you know me at all, or if you read this blog, you know I am a runner. I’ve been running for decades, and while I was never fast–and I’m certainly not fast now–running has never been about speed or PRs for me. I just love it, and I always have. Running is my happy…… Continue reading
Home
Yesterday there were a bunch of events going on in the morning at the college, in conjunction with the inauguration of Gettysburg College’s new president, Bob Iuliano. One of the sessions I attended was on immigration, and one of the presenters read this poem. I thought it was incredibly powerful, and I think more people…… Continue reading Home
Expansive Empathy for all God’s Children
Yesterday I listened to one of my favorite podcasts—“Hidden Brain.” This episode was about empathy, and it is definitely worth a listen, even though it is a little long. It is especially important in the current context to think critically about empathy, since the data shows that, in general, in the United States, empathy has…… Continue reading Expansive Empathy for all God’s Children
Happy Lutheran 