Incarnation Lutheran Church

06/18/2026

Walking in Grace
I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.
—2 Timothy 1:5 (NIV)
“What do you want to sew?” I asked Madelyn when she came to my house, along with her brothers, Micah and Benjamin, for a week of Grandma Camp in June. Her mom, Rachel, had informed me of Madelyn’s desire after being inspired by Laura Ingalls Wilder’s frontier stitching skills in the Little House on the Prairie books my granddaughter had been reading.
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“I want to sew a dress.”
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I gazed at my granddaughter, her straight brown hair framing her earnest face. At age eight, I worried she was too young to learn. “How about we start with something simpler?”
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After tightening the fabric on an embroidery hoop on her chosen project—an owl sampler pattern—Madelyn began outlining the bird in purple embroidery floss. Up and down, she wove the needle, around the head and both wings, while her boisterous brothers wrestled in the other room, their laughter filling the house.
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“I remember my mom teaching me to sew,” I said as Madelyn added French knots for the owl’s eyes.
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“Great-Grandma Lois?” Madelyn asked, naming the woman who had died when Madelyn had been a baby. While we added new colors, Madelyn asked questions about her great-grandmother, figuring out her relationship in the collective family memories.
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When the final herringbone stitch was knotted in place, I gave thanks for an afternoon with my granddaughter as she threaded her place of belonging in the fabric of our family’s stories, something none of us is too young to learn.
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Thank You, Jesus, that no matter my heritage, I belong in Your story.
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—Lynne Hartke
Digging Deeper: ​Deuteronomy 4:9; Psalm 100:5

06/18/2026

Today We Invite You to Celebrate the Legacy of Faith
One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts.
—Psalm 145:4 (NIV)
Time to Think
"A godly legacy is one of the greatest treasures a family can receive.”
—Elizabeth George
Time to Act
Remember someone who helped shape your faith or values. Thank God for their influence, and consider sharing one meaningful memory with someone you love.
Time to Pray
Dear God, thank You for the people who have encouraged and guided me in faith. Help me pass Your love and truth on to future generations.

06/17/2026

Mornings with Jesus
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
—2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)
Many people remark on the kind and cooperative co-parenting relationship I have with my ex-husband. We are always polite to one another. We make a sincere effort to accommodate each other’s schedules and needs, pinch-hitting rides and childcare, even when it’s not our week. How do we do it? Not to be overly simplistic, but the answer is Jesus and His amazing grace.
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Jesus gave me grace to see my part in the marriage, both my contributions and my failings. There is no ego in His grace, and this diffuses the potential bitterness and blaming that can make co-parenting terribly tense, if not downright impossible.
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I also cannot deny the fact that Jesus loves my ex-husband as much as He loves me. I want to treat Him like a Christian brother, understanding he (just like me) is a sinner in need of grace. The Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12) helps me make a sincere effort to treat him as I want him to treat me.
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It is Jesus’s love that enables both me and my ex to keep our children’s well-being at the forefront, promoting the most loving, safe, positive environment for them and for us. The goal is more love and peace, not more strife and destruction. When there’s a potential conflict, Jesus’s grace comes to my rescue, reminding me that I can rely on Him to help me through any challenge because He is all I need.
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—Isabella Campolattaro
Faith Step:​ Pray for the grace and clarity to see your part in a difficult relationship and consider ways in which Jesus can help you bridge the gap.

06/17/2026

Today We Invite You to Lean on God’s Grace
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
—Ephesians 4:2 (NIV)
Time to Think
"God’s grace is greater than our weakness."
—A.W. Tozer
Time to Act
Reflect on one relationship that feels strained or difficult. Ask God to help you respond today with humility, patience, and grace.
Time to Pray
Heavenly Father, thank You for the grace You freely give me each day. Help me extend that same grace and kindness to others.

06/16/2026

Metamorphosis: Inmates saving monarchs find purpose and hope
There are a lot more monarchs flying around one of Wisconsin's prisons these days.
Incarcerated individuals at Redgranite Correctional Institution are helping monarch butterflies through a new program supported by NRF.

In our new blog post, learn how inmates are repurposing garden beds into pollinator habitat, caring for monarch larvae, and sharing the importance of planting native plants with friends and family.

"I was excited from day one to learn about the monarch life cycle." —Inmate J.K. at Redgranite

READ NOW

At Redgranite Correctional Institution, inmates are saving monarchs and finding a renewed sense of meaning and connection.

06/16/2026

Walking in Grace
He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
—Matthew 17:20–21 (NIV)
I hadn’t noticed that it was past my bedtime. I was working late when I heard the unmistakable sound of my dog’s tags jingling outside my home office door. Only Soda is blind, and we keep a safety gate at the bottom of the stairs to stop him from climbing them alone, so I must be imagining it.
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But then, it happened again. The tags jingled, so I got up and opened the door. Soda, our little blind dog, was at the tippy top of the stairs. Three cats surrounded him—all wide-eyed.
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I scooped up Soda and looked down the stairs. The gate was still up! Somehow, Soda had jumped the gate and climbed the stairs to come to bed with me. I gave him a huge hug, thankful for his safety.
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When he first lost his sight two years ago, we put up the gate. It never occurred to me that, maybe, he didn’t need it anymore. As I lay in bed, I thought about the limitations I place on myself and others out of habit. What gates do I keep up even though I’ve grown enough to leap over them and climb to the next level?
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Lord, thank You for Soda, who teaches me new things every day, and for showing me that sometimes You don’t move mountains for us. Instead, You give us the courage to blindly jump over them.
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—Sabra Ciancanelli
Digging Deeper: ​Mark 9:23; Ephesians 3:20

06/16/2026

Today We Invite You to Trust God Beyond Your Limits
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.
—Ephesians 3:20 (NIV)
Time to Think
"Faith is taking the first step even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”
—Martin Luther King Jr.
Time to Act
Think about one limitation or fear that has been holding you back. Ask God to give you courage to take the next step forward in faith.
Time to Pray
Dear God, help me trust You beyond what I can see or understand. Give me courage to move forward in faith, knowing You are always with me.

06/16/2026

Devotional for the week of June 14, 2026

When Jesus instructed his followers to “ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers” (Matthew 9:38), his disciples might not have expected that the sending would happen so quickly, or that they would be the ones sent. The job of harvest laborers might seem straightforward enough: Recognize the gifts, the fruit, and use them to advance the good news of God’s work. But what prompts Jesus to tell the disciples to ask God for laborers is that he sees people who are “harassed and helpless” (v. 36) and is moved to compassion. That movement prompts us to consider that compassion is not merely a feeling that is held, but an energy that reaches out through us to others.

Congregational mission statements and our Sunday liturgy commonly reinforce that the faithful are sent into the world proclaiming the good news of God in Christ. The scriptures stress the importance of connecting oral proclamation with meaningful action, lest proclamation become merely lip service. While proclaiming the gospel might seem broad and difficult to narrow down into our many daily interactions and tasks, the guiding principle of compassion provides a touchpoint.

The disciples’ message that God’s kingdom has come near is accompanied by actions meant to alleviate suffering. When we gather as a people of faith, we receive God’s compassion in Christ that extends through the Lord’s supper and unites us in fellowship. In our prayers we are attentive to personal, local, and broad requests, asking God to receive and keep them in God’s care. These acts of worship can prepare us to extend the compassion given to us into our personal conversations and interactions with others. When we ask how we can be led by compassion, we are asking how we can proclaim the good news of God in Christ.

06/15/2026

Walking in Grace
Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.
—Jeremiah 1:5 (NIV)
It was my first experience with death as a volunteer Emergency Medical Responder. Our ambulance was dispatched to a lake where a youth had been swimming with friends and had gone missing underwater.
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On the way, our medic, a veteran of the Afghanistan war, prepped us for what we’d likely face. “He’s been underwater over forty-five minutes. Odds are he won’t revive, but we’re going to do everything we can to try. The helicopter cannot transport patients without a pulse, so it’s on us.”
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Fire arrived on scene, located the youth, and began CPR. We rolled up and loaded him. I started chest compressions as the paramedic readied the mechanical CPR device. During our one-and-a-half-hour transport to the hospital, the medic administered medication to stimulate heart function as I sat by his head and systematically breathed for him. He was so young. What were his life’s ambitions? Was he a believer? I didn’t even know his name.
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At the hospital, the ER team took over and fought for another two hours. The youth’s pastor pushed by me and began to pray. At that moment, I knew this lost youth was with the One who knew him completely, from before he was formed in his mother’s womb. He was already in heaven, experiencing more love and joy than we can possibly imagine. The end really isn’t the end for those who believe.
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Lord, we view tragedy through human terms, yet You know infinitely more about us. Please ease the hurt of broken families with the assurance that they will be reunited for eternity.
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—Erika Bentsen
Digging Deeper: ​Job 14:5; Psalm 139:16; Hebrews 12:1–3

06/15/2026

Today We Invite You to Hold Tight to Faith
He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.
—Revelation 21:4 (NIV)
Time to Think
"For the Christian, death is not the end of adventure but a doorway from a world where dreams and adventures shrink, to a world where dreams and adventures forever expand.”
—Randy Alcorn
Time to Act
Pray for someone today who is grieving or carrying deep sorrow. Ask God to fill their heart with comfort and the assurance of His eternal love.
Time to Pray
Dear Lord, thank You that death is not the end for those who belong to You. Comfort hurting hearts with the promise of eternal life and the hope of reunion in Your presence.