Category: Uncategorized
Finding Grace in Unexpected Ways
A few months ago my husband and I celebrated 37 years of marriage. Quite a feat considering where I came from: broken home and a long lineage of divorce. I am sure our marriage set some kind of Fleig family record. Yet the most incredible, miraculous thing in all this is not our longevity; it’s ...
What’s MOST Important?
When I home schooled my kids the most overwhelming part of teaching them was not the energy it took to add “full-time teacher of four” to my already overly-busy life. It was not the enormous amount of patience needed to confront the daily barrage of stubborn wills, sassy mouths, or bad attitudes. It was not ...
Recovering From Injury – Rehabilitating the Soul
After my workout at the gym one day, while doing a routine stretching exercise, I heard a snap. Immediately I felt a sharp pain in the back of my leg. I knew instantly I’d pulled my hamstring. Serious? I was being careful! I was doing everything right! How did that happen? I wanted to scream. ...
Why Community Makes A Ton of Sense
I preached a few Sundays ago at Faith on the importance of practicing community. Just like all the other spiritual practices, practicing community, is difficult. Given the messiness (and glory!) of doing life together as broken people, the fears we carry with us, and our hurried lives there must be a more compelling motive other ...
Looking For Something More? A Resource for the New Year!
“We’re aware of Jesus, but we are obsessed with Christianity. We’re stuck on its requirements and we’re defined by its doctrines, caught in an endless struggle to find out where we fit, if we’ve “arrived” yet, and if we’re doing it right. We struggle with sin, and yet, because of the boundaries, we’re forced to ...
Merry Christmas! May the Weary World Rejoice!
Christ has come near! I was reminded over and over again this Christmas season that when God sent Jesus as our Savior/ Immanuel, he was telling us that our salvation in this world was not in the hope of getting life fixed, but that he was the God who desires to comes to be with us ...
The Danger of our Distraction
“The great danger facing all of us-- let me say it again, for one feels it tremendously—is not that we shall make an absolute failure of life, nor that we shall fall into outright viciousness, nor that we shall be terribly unhappy, nor that we shall feel that life has no meaning at all-- not ...
The Obedient Life – Not What You Think
“Obedience is the key!” shouted he radio preacher. Ugh, well, Jesus is the key but that got me thinking a lot about obedience. Obedience, for sure, plays a big part. Perhaps, however, not as we think. I know that just the mention of that word illicits a mixed bag of emotions, because it comes cloaked ...
Dancing with the Trinity
Gal. 5:25 – “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” “Keeping in step” indicates someone else is leading. It also means putting aside our agenda, our expectations, our control and relinquish ourselves to someone else’s lead. That means we are the followers, not the ones calling the shots. ...
Living into a Greater Story
“I cannot answer the question, what do I love? Without answering the question, what story do I believe?” James K. A. Smith, in Imagining the Kingdom We are in a sermon series right now at Faith called “Story.” I love this because it’s more than a sermon series. If we can get our arms around ...
Gail Johnsen 