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My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water (Jeremiah 2:13). One of my early childhood memories is of my brother and me drinking water from an artesian well. Over the years that memory faded. Then came the daysixty years later--when my mother and I re-visited ...
Keep Reading"My people have forsaken me, the spring of Living Water, and havedug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water" (Jeremiah 2:13). The high school soccer trophies on the bedroom shelf. The honors cords draped over the college diploma. The plaque honoring excellence at work. They all hold some measure of success, offer some sense of security: Look what I did...
Keep ReadingThey did not ask, "Where is the LORD?" The priests did not ask, "Where is the LORD?" My people have forsaken me, the spring of living water (Jeremiah 2:6, 8, 13). Unhook is our theme word for this third week of our Restart! Series: it's hard to really get restarted if you're chained to something! How do we get unhooked so that we can get going again? The feeling of bei...
Keep ReadingMy people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water,and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water (Jeremiah 2:13). [Editor's Note: because our writing team had the week off between Christmas and New Year's, our Connect Devotionals got a week behind the preaching and home group study schedules. We're now back in sy...
Keep ReadingGod called to Moses from the bush. And Moses said, "Here I am" (Exodus 3:4). This week we've been exploring what it means to Restart. How do we keep going in what feels like an unending wilderness? How do we "find God" in situations that seem only to communicate God's absence? Where do we gain the energy to hear and obey God when we feel weighed and dragged down by so man...
Keep ReadingExodus 3 On December 23, 2009, in the middle of a record breaking blizzard, Team Waldstein rolled into Minot, North Dakota. (Pronounced MY-not...rhymes with, "Why not?"...see what I did there?) It was a new start for our family, and one only my husband was excited about! Outwardly I went willingly, because I knew in my head it was the right move for our family. Inwardly I...
Keep ReadingExodus 3 and 4 When our second child was just a couple weeks old my husband approached me with a radical idea. "I'm going to start applying for other jobs out of state." My then sleep deprived state keeps me from recalling my exact reaction, but I'm positive laughter was involved. We had a brand new baby, a two-year-old, two full time jobs, my entire extended family withi...
Keep Reading"So now, go. I am sending you" (Exodus 3:10). Inertia? Have you felt it these past few months? Forced into months of semi-isolation and limited contact with others, was it easy to get lazy, stay in the sleep pants, and watch yet another Netflix show? Did it become more comfortable to stream the church service at our convenience? Have we preferred working from home with it...
Keep ReadingMoses led his flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb,the mountain of God (Exodus 3:1). Happy New Year, and welcome back to Connect Devotionals! A new year begins, and a new sermon series: Restart! As 2021 begins, a restarta fresh startreally is something to long for, as a country, as a church, as a person. 2020, with its pandemic, political turmoil and on...
Keep ReadingThe Word became flesh and made his dwelling with us (John 1:14). Drum roll, building, getting louder music, beginning quietly in the bass register, but rising, crescendoing sudden spectacular, full-throated chord, the entire symphony cranked all the way up, tutti fortissimo! Cue the choir, angelic and earthly! Wait that's it? That's all? A baby? Yeah, babies are cute a...
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