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Last Saturday I was driving east on Route 38 between DeKalb and Geneva when I saw them coming the other way. A big, black, unmarked SWAT-like vehicle followed by a few unmarked cars. Men in tactical gear with familiar gator coverings around their necks. It wasn’t a chase; they weren’t in a hurry. Just commuting. But I knew immediately who they were: ICE.  The sight jolted me back to 2018. Back then, I was sitting outside a Rochelle elementary school, watching oddly parked unmarked cars, wondering if I was about to see a raid as buses unloaded children. My stomach was tight. I ran throughRead More →

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One of the habits that shapes me is starting each day with Scripture. My first 7–12 minutes after waking are spent with an app that offers a short opening prayer, a prayer of confession, two Scripture readings, the Lord’s Prayer, and a blessing for the day. It’s not Bible study or sermon prep. It’s what I do for my own spiritual practice. Bleary-eyed, I simply read it, pray it, let it pass through me. It’s part of my routine as I move on to a workout, then cup of coffee and the day’s tasks. But sometimes a verse lingers. Sometimes the Holy Spirit won’t letRead More →

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Coming home from my worship planning retreat, I find myself reflective. It happens every year I drive. After 5 days in the mountains, praying and planning, then driving 1000 miles home. It leaves me both tired and full. Tired because the work is intense. Full because God is faithful. And it leaves me plenty of room to think. As I returned this year, after pondering the whole drive home, there were a few prominent thoughts that came to mind, notably three things of which I’m especially proud. These aren’t the only things worth celebrating, but they are three reminders of how God is moving amongRead More →

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This time of year, gardens and farmers’ markets (and even our own fellowship hall) are often overflowing with tomatoes. Not just the neat, red, uniform kind lined up in grocery store bins, but heirloom tomatoes in all their wild unique beauty. Some are striped and spotted, others are lumpy and uneven. They come in every shade you can imagine, from deep purple to golden yellow. And there’s nothing quite like a tomato warmed and ripened by the sun, sliced open and sprinkled with a little salt. Or that perfect, simple southern classic, a tomato and mayo sandwich. The flavor is unlike anything that traveled milesRead More →