Harold’s New & Used Baby Emporium Written by Rev. Jaci McNeil   It was Black Friday at Harold’s New & Used Baby Emporium. Harry stood in the center of the store and called out to his employees, “Ok, folks! We’ve got a lot of babies to unload today. I over-ordered last week and...

I am a grumbler, mumbler and an eyeball roller. Something annoying happens and I will grumble if there’s a sympathetic ear nearby. If it’s not appropriate for me to complain out loud, I’ll mumble Shmurmur shmurmur under my breath. If someone overhears me and says, What did you say? I...

The older generation says about the younger generation’s music, “That’s not real music!” The younger generation says, “Ok, Boomer.” While these comments are usually made in good nature, I have found that this is not necessarily true in the church when it comes to hymns versus praise and worship songs....

Theology of War Rev. Jaci McNeil Russian President Vladimir Putin declared war on Ukraine Wednesday, February 23rd (2022). If you’ve been following the news, you know the conflict that has been simmering since the 2014 annexation of Crimea has been kicked into overdrive. Russia and Ukraine have a complicated legacy, which dates back thousands...

A serious rupture in our family has caused me to think deeply about forgiveness. Sometimes it’s easy to dispense forgiveness and sometimes it seems impossible, especially when the person requiring forgiveness is a repeat offender. Most of us put up with repeat offenders because we are afraid to do something about it. Johns...

I started writing songs in earnest when the governor of Illinois closed down churches and small businesses. The stress and pressure of the lockdowns and the ruination of the lives people had built for themselves overwhelmed me. Writing a song transported me to another place and time. It was therapy....

Do you remember what we said last year? We all said, “It’s going to be better next year.” We all said, “Next year we can go back to normal.” We all said it, admit it! Was it better? Did we go back to normal? Nope. Not in any meaningful sense,...