Refiner's Fire
A Lenten Gathering of Nine Posts with Six-Word Memoirs
One of my favorite worship songs is Refiner's Fire by Brian Doerksen. We don't sing it much in my current worship setting, but it is a song that has stayed with me from my teenage years through to adulthood. I love its simplicity. The whole song and especially the lyrics remind me what formation actually costs and who I become in the process. The six-word memoirs accompanying each post below are my simple way of inviting readers to revisit my Lenten journey and dwell in the reflections that have carried me through the whole season of Lent 2026.
Blessing the Dust
To start Lent this year, I had ashes imposed on my head twice. One in the afternoon ecumenical service and one in the evening at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Geneva. There’s something profound that happens when I hear the words reminding us that we are dust, and to dust we shall return repeated.
Starting from the beginning? Transforming dust…
Moving Forward while Reading Backwards
This is my second post in my Lent series. I started on Ash Wednesday with Blessing the Dust.
Beginning at the end. Still reading.
Overcoming chaos: Re-centering again and again…
Words That Stay With Me
At 6:00AM, it’s still dark. I set the kettle to boil, ready for coffee to wake me up. I put on ambient piano music on Spotify to set the right atmosphere. I’m in the kitchen. This room has become my space for morning pages. I value the silence and solitude for daily journaling. It’s been my practice for many years—it has helped me keep…
Welcome words. Holding them, holding me.
Seven Movements of Renewal
“There you will find three rules, amply presented throughout the whole Psalm. They are Oratio, Meditatio, Tentatio.” — Martin Luther, Basic Theological Writings, ed. Timothy F. Lull
From three to seven: Reforming rules.
Scattered and Gathered
I confess, sometimes I prefer to stay at home on Sunday. At times, I prefer to be alone, especially after being maxed out relationally through the workweek. But there is something in gathering together that allows me to be carried by the community of faith—the present congregation and the communion of saints, past, present, and future.
Walking through the drama of worship.
1511. Wittenberg. Malacca. Both within me.
Between the Shadows and the Sun
Today, I woke up later than usual. I stepped into a quiet and slow morning. I had my coffee with my cornflakes. It’s Good Friday; I was ready for a family day out.
Ordinary Friday became really Good Friday.
Savoring the Solitude
Holy Saturday has arrived. I sat at the corner of the sanctuary at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Geneva. We were preparing for the Easter Vigil service. The choir practiced a little dance that would end the service; they continued tuning their harmonies for songs we would join in later. I could hear the arrangements of the communi…
Embracing Paradox. No rush to alleluias.