Our Stories
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Wrestling by Kelly Humphreys - 02/02/2012
I remember when our son Matthew was on his high school wrestling team. Saturday tournaments would take up the whole day, usually in a gym out of town. We would sit all day with other parents, rooting for Matt’s...
Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow! by Ali Hormann - 01/26/2012Quite recently I was given an explanation by a four-year old on how to get God to do what you ask. Keep in mind it was the process on how to make it snow when you wake up from your nap, but still it was clear precise and direct
What Lies Beneath by Mark Lanum - 01/19/2012Looking out the window at the snow that blankets my yard, you can tell what's underneath it. You can see the remnants of yesterday's tire tracks, cat paw prints left during the night, bushes, as well as benches for sitting.
A New Routine by Daniel Starr - 01/12/2012Recently Nicole and I watched the movie "Flash of Genius", based on the true story of the legal battle between Robert Kearns and the Ford Motor Company, which Kearns alleges stole his patents for the intermittent windshield wiper he invented.
Looking Back, But Not For Too Long by Aaron Soderlund - 01/05/2012Gym memberships. Weight loss goals. Giving up smoking. Or drinking. More time with family. It's different for everyone. But every year January 1st brings about "changes". What is it about the new year that spurs this on in all...
God With Us by Abigail Welborn - 12/22/2011From our modern perspective, our familiarity with the Christmas story and the thousands of years of intervening history, it's hard to imagine what Mary was thinking and feeling on the night she gave birth to the Son of God....
Can I Get a Witness? by Kelly Humphreys - 12/15/2011Sometimes, as a barista, people tell me things. Customers who don't come around regularly will share what's on their mind, but more often, it's people who are regular customers who open up. We build up a rapport with them; they feel comfortable with us. Sometimes I think baristas are a new form of bartenders.
Active Captivity by Ali Hormann - 12/08/2011O Come, O Come, Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel. We hear those words and start humming a tune and think to ourselves how happy we are that it is Christmastime. But those words are not words of an imminent...
Prepare Him Room by Noah Hormann - 12/01/2011The recurring theme every year during the "Holiday" season is busyness. For so many of us it's a time of manic stress, expectations to live up to, strained family relationships, etc, etc, etc. You all have your own list, you know what I'm talking about.
Thankful For What I Had by Aaron Soderlund - 11/23/2011You may or may not remember this, but I used to sell upholstery material for airplane interiors. So when you fly Alaska Airlines and sit on those blue leather seats throughout the entire cabin... yep, that was me. You're welcome.
Do You Know Who You Are? by Keith Ferrin - 11/17/2011Mark Lanum took this picture of me last Sunday at Creekside. My kids - and several of their buddies - had a great time running up to people at church, asking for their nametags, slapping them on my back,...
The End of the Story by Abigail Welborn - 11/10/2011Well, it's official. Public knowledge. My husband and I are about to venture into the scary, supposedly wonderful world of parenthood. On (or about) April 11, 2012... our lives will never be the same.
Firmly Planted by Kelly Humphreys - 11/03/2011About a month ago I had a near-death experience. That's how I tell this story, anyway. I was at the dog park (what is it with the dog park, accidents, and my family?). I was fascinated, watching our Airedale terrier Seamus at a waterhole.
Rest for the Weary by Ali Hormann - 10/27/2011There are few things in life that I accept any type of praise for, but I will gladly receive accolades for my family, especially my parents. It's not always the case that kids think the world of their parents...
Holes to Heaven by Stew - 10/20/2011I've been thinking lately about boundaries and what makes something inside and something outside. As a child you learn there are boundaries that you're supposed to respect. And as you grow up, you learn there are conceptual boundaries, laws...
Silence is Golden... But Difficult by Daniel Starr - 10/13/2011If you know much contemporary classical music, you may know of a composer named John Cage, who was known for his music making some interesting statements. The most infamous is his piece "4'33" which can be performed by any number of musicians.
Thankful by Aaron Soderlund - 10/06/2011I hate journals. I hate journaling. I'm just not comfortable with them. I think they're a little creepy, actually, to have so much information in one place. I don't like to write all of that stuff down every day. I don't like to think it all through. Journals are for other people
Be Still by Abigail Welborn - 09/29/2011I don't do "still." Or rather, I can be physically still, if I'm reading a book or my mind is otherwise occupied - but my mind is always going at full speed. I think the only time I've ever really been still in body and mind was
Surprise and Delight by Kelly Humphreys - 09/22/2011At Starbucks we have a saying about our customer service: "surprise and delight." Do the unexpected - honor an expired coupon, give out a free drink or pastry here and there, truly mean it when you say, "How are you?" Give each customer "world class" service, so everyone leaves with a smile.
Here I Raise Mine Ebenezer by Ali Hormann - 09/15/2011When Noah and I moved here from Chicago I left that city in tears. It was the same city I had arrived at in tears two years earlier. At the time I knew there could never be anything as good as home
Follow Your Heart? by Mark Lanum - 09/08/2011Recently, a friend posted this quote on Facebook: "Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the...
How Costly Is Too Costly? by Steve Pettijohn - 09/01/2011In the year 1976 in Seattle there were "I Found It!" billboard signs. Each sign had a photograph of only one person. Some of the signs had a picture of a young person, while some pictured an old person....
Pregnant and Homeless by Aaron Soderlund - 08/25/2011"Pregnant and Homeless. I need your help." This is a sign that I saw the other day. It was being held by a 20-something year old girl on the corner by a stoplight that I was at. Perhaps it's because I never know what to believe with the people holding signs on the side of the road asking for help.
Greater Love by Abigail Welborn - 08/18/2011I'm a sucker for super-hero movies. I tend to like even the bad ones (Elektra, anyone?). This summer, then, has been a veritable glut for me, with more comic book movies being released in one year than ever before...
Weeding by Debbie Muchnick - 08/11/2011If you look at any profile I have ever created for myself you will see a favorite activity, hobby, passion, is gardening. I'm confessing that's not true. I like to weed. I think I say gardening because it sounds better, more dignified.
Lost in Translation by Ali Hormann - 08/04/2011I listen to Garrison Keillor for fun during the day. His podcasts of the News from Lake Wobegon come littered with humorous tales of a small ‘fictional’ Minnesota town. I put quotes around fictional because the stories seem to...
Take Your Breaks by Daniel Starr - 07/28/2011Our everyday lives can, to put it very mildly, be overwhelming at times. On a typical weekday, I get up early to work at least eight hours on a job that requires me to constantly multi-task and pay close attention to a ton of details, and has tight deadlines.
The Best Sermon I Ever Heard by Doug Humphreys - 07/21/2011"The preacher" looked to be in his late 60's but he could have been much younger - age and hard living had clearly blurred the normal telltales of age. A work shirt of blue denim, blackened at the cuffs,...
Never Settle by Abigail Welborn - 07/14/2011Early in June, I got one of those phone calls that no one likes to receive. The good news is that no one was ill. The bad news is that my dad had gotten laid off - again.
Blessings by Aaron Soderlund - 07/07/2011I attended a different church on Sunday. Now before you all freak out, it was because our family was out of town. While at this other church I actually witnessed a very cool picture of community that has stuck...
Legacy by Kelly Humphreys - 06/30/2011As I sat around a Salem kitchen table for hours in my aunt and uncle's kitchen last month, visiting with my mother (who had come for a visit from Juneau), two aunts, an uncle, and my husband, I was mulling over what legacy was
God Does Not Play Hide and Seek by Ali Hormann - 06/23/2011When I was 16, I took a trip to Boundary Waters in Minnesota's Arrowhead with my family. The Boundary Waters Canoe Area is thousands of square miles of National Forest where motorized vehicles are not allowed and the power...
Community...More Than A Word by Keith Ferrin - 06/16/2011I spent this last weekend with a very unique - and very cool - church community in Bowling Green, Kentucky. They simply refer to themselves as The Church at Bowling Green. Hmmm...sounds a lot like The Church at Ephesus,...
Everything For Good by Steve Pettijohn - 06/09/2011People are asking me about our Mercury Sable that was wrecked in April. So here is what happened and more. First we really liked the Sable; but it needed tires. Also I needed a riding mower. We prayed about...
So Now What? by Aaron Soderlund - 06/02/2011So now what? I know you have that same question. I have that question nearly every day. Usually it’s in a simple situation where I just finished an appointment but have just the wrong amount of time before my...
How to Be Successful by Abigail Welborn - 05/26/2011Some of you will be disappointed to learn that I'm not talking about how to become a success (at least not from the world's perspective), but rather how God says you should be if and when you do come into success.
What Would It Take? Or, Idols Revisited by Kelly Humphreys - 05/19/2011Naaman was a commander in the Syrian army, Very powerful but with one problem he had no power over -- Leprosy. He owned a slave girl from Israel Who told about the prophet who could heal him. Long story...
The Promise of a New Thing by Ali Hormann - 05/12/2011Today my Facebook newsfeed said my friends in Chicago were turning on their air conditioning. Some went so far as to conjure up the gall to complain about how hot it was there, that 85 degrees was just too...
The Right Words by Daniel Starr - 05/05/2011There are times when all of us find ourselves at a loss for words. Something amazes or overwhelms us, and we do not know how to react. I have a learning disability which causes me to process my surroundings more slowly than normal, and as a result, I struggle with finding my words a lot.
Be Thankful by Steve Pettijohn - 04/28/2011The pain was great last night. My foot hasn't hurt this much in months. I got very little sleep . The problem started years ago with a car wreck. I broke both legs. Both legs now have metal parts in them; however my left leg also has bone donated by someone else.
Experience by Aaron Soderlund - 04/21/2011I crossed the freeway, turned right off Madison Avenue onto 6th where I was met with an overwhelming amount of cars. The frame of the burgundy 1992 Subaru Legacy felt sandwiched between cars on all sides. All of us slowly moving north together
Laugh Your Way by Beth Soderlund - 04/14/2011A few months ago, Aaron and I planned a very special date. We put the kids to bed as usual, arranged for childcare and drove ourselves to Claim Jumper. Once there, we calmly worked together to decide on which dessert to share. Then came the tears.
Talk No More So Very Proudly by Kelly Humphreys - 04/07/2011A satellite clock sits on my bedside table, and projects the time onto the ceiling. For some reason - and I've tried a few times to fix it - it thinks we are on Eastern Standard Time. So, if I wake up in the middle of the night and want to see what time it is
Faith and Doubt by Ali Hormann - 03/31/2011Growing up in the church I learned the basics of a lot of different Bible stories via the media of flannel graphs, Superbook videos and the heart-felt teaching of some amazing volunteers. But being a child I couldn't begin...
What God Is Not by Abigail Welborn - 03/24/2011I was visiting my uncle several years ago when he discovered a check he hadn't cashed. It was an honorarium he'd received, and he had just stuck it into the book he was reading at the time and forgotten...
Facing Weakness by Daniel Starr - 03/17/2011"What is your greatest weakness?" At various points in our lives, we all have to face this question. I seemed to encounter it at just about every job interview I have had, and it always gave me trouble. Despite...
Opinions by Aaron Soderlund - 03/10/2011It's hard to imagine, I know, but you and I may have different opinions about things. You might like things like... station wagons, classical music with no words, flannel shirts, or even the color purple. Personally, I don't care for any of those.
Treating Bone-Rot by Abigail Welborn - 03/03/2011Some friends of mine bought a house recently. The wife of the couple was eager to show it to me, and indeed, it was a house worth showing off - bigger and nicer than the house my husband and I bought just over a year ago
Skewed Reality and a Grace-Filled Life by Kelly Humphreys - 02/24/2011I was in Costco the other day and came across a funny situation with three strangers. A man had just mistakenly put a bottle of wine in another person's cart, and his wife was laughingly chiding him. The cart's...
Love is the Air, the Fridge, the TV and at DSW by Ali Hormann - 02/17/2011Happy Valentines Day! I hope that everyone had a pleasant Monday and that the rain didn’t wash away all your plans. Personally I had a great time, I got dressed up, got my husband to wear a three piece...
