This week I'm freaking out at the process of ordering from Amazon. Is it better than going to the malls of the 70s and 80s? Well, no, but you take what you get, right? Do you have a favorite dog breed? If youve been listening for awhile, you may know mine so now I need to know yours. Drop me a Facebook post and let me know. Thanks for hanging out a…

In God's Word, we are commanded to pray for all people, no matter if we like them, or disagree with them, or what. All people, especially those in authority over us: our local police, the mayor, the governor, and the President of the United States, whether you voted for them or not. The command does not change depending on who is leading. That migh…

Many Christians believe we have an obligation, not only to our country but to God, to vote certain ways and support certain candidates or policies. As followers of Christ do we have a political obligation to our faith and to our country, and if so, what is it? Watch/listen to this message to discover the unchanging obligation we have to the Kingdom…

This week I'm wondering about dating for older people. I don't know why. I'm not needing to date. But I suppose I'm just looking out for the elderly. Where are the best places to date? How are older people even making frends? I want to know this stuff. I've started planning for Halloween, folks. I'm planning on a Halloween story epidode of the podc…

What is the Church's position in this present political climate? Are God's people to be on the left or the right, or somewhere in the middle? How do we contend with those of a different viewpoint or party than our own? If there was ever a time to ask WWJD (What would Jesus do?) this is it. Watch this supercharged first message of the Undivided King…

Getting back into the swing of things this week and looking for a good formula for coffee. Do you have one? Do you have a specific coffee/water ratio for your recipes which you have developed over years of experimenting? If so, feel free to share. It's back to school week so I've been out buying three ring binders and new sneakers from Kmart. Eh. I…

In part 2 of the message entitled The Prayer of Jesus, Senior Pastor Jeff Maness tells us about "The #1 Prayer of Jesus". In part 1, we learned that hours before His excruciating death on the cross, at a time when every word counted, Jesus prayed for the protection, purity (holiness), and purpose of those who were following Him and anyone who would…

Did you know that Jesus prayed for you while He was here on earth? Not only then, but He continues to pray for you now! He prays for the protection, purity (holiness), and purpose of those that love and follow Him. Not only that, but the prayer of Jesus for us is backed up by the power of Jesus in us! Learn more in "Jesus Prayed for You", part one …

Didn't expect a 3 month delay but, hey, we're back! What started as technical problems, turned into existential questioning and doubts. In the end, though, we made it through to a brand new show. Hope it was worth the wait. Let me know if you're still here...By Rick Baldwin

In the last message we learned that "God is Everything". Everything that God has done and is doing today and all that He will do in the future is because of His great love. So what is our response to His love? Devotion. We are to be devoted to not only to following Christ, but to abiding in Him. What exactly does this mean? How do we "abide" in Jes…

It’s easy for any of us to ask ourselves, “What is my purpose in this life, in this world, in this universe?" You may feel so small and insignificant and sometimes just wonder what the point of it all is. You may see the daily headlines of natural disasters, global conflicts, political division, and it becomes easy to feel like a very tiny drop in …

What is it that humans long for most? There is probably a range of answers such as meaning, relationships, love, and significance, but the one everyone could agree on would be freedom. Humans long to be free. Experiencing freedom as a citizen of the USA is one thing, but the idea of experiencing spiritual freedom can often be much harder. Even thou…

Have you ever felt like God in the Old Testament is different from God in the New Testament? The grace shown in the Old Testament and the grace we receive through Christ in the New Testament are very similar. We can even see God’s grace in the way He dealt with Adam and Eve in the garden despite the consequences of their sin. Watch this message to …

God is all sovereign, all powerful, all holy, all loving, lacking nothing, needing nothing, perfect in every way, and He is drawing you in through the affectionate call of the Gospel. He calls you to be His child! Yes, the God who created the universe is inviting you into relationship with Him through His son Jesus, just because it will make Him ha…

How can we, humans, understand the deep love of God? We start by understanding that He is perfectly patient, plentiful with love, and perpetually faithful. You may have heard "God is love" all of your life. Listen to this message and see what that really means. Click here for Pastor Jeff's Message Notes. Click here for Small Group Discussion Questi…

In the first message of this series, He Is/We Are, we learned about the holiness of God. In this follow-up message, we learn what our response to God's holiness must be. Watch/listen to learn what worship is and what "True Worship" looks like. Click here for Jeff's Message Notes. Click here for Small Group Discussion Questions. ____________________…

What comes to mind when you think of God? In this first message of the He Is/We Are series, Senior Pastor Jeff Maness explores what it means when we say that God is holy. Holiness as a concept may be hard to grasp. It basically talks about God's apartness or sacredness. There is no one like Him. Only He is absolutely holy, and from His holiness flo…

Crystal Duffy, Community Developer for the Postville Community Heart and Soul program joins us on this episode to talk about one NE Iowa communities journey through the Heart and Soul framework. Postville, a small town of 2,500+ in rural Allamakee County, has been slowly growing for well over a decade as local processing plant jobs and various indu…

What areas of your life are you always trying to control? What you try to control the most is often what you worry about the most. And, you may be surprised to find, what you try to control is most often where you are trusting God the least. Watch/listen to this message from Manne Favor, Pastor of Connect Church in Pearland, Texas, to learn that yo…

It's the 100th Episode of the Outta Toon Podcast! For this very special show, I wanted to have as my special guest, my original podcast partner Cheri Brown. For those of you who don't know, Cheri and I started podcasting in 2013 and created the Life In A Kilt Podcast and This Epic Disaster podcasts together. We had a bit of a falling out a couple y…

Located on a stately corner of Broadway and River Street in downtown Decorah is the former home of Adelbert Field Porter (1879 – 1968) and Grace Young Porter (1880 – 1964). Both single children of early Decorah and NE Iowa business families, Grace and Bert Porter left their home as a Museum of worldly collections that inspire exploration of history…

Greetings Tooners! I'm back from my Minnesota vacation and all primed for a new show. This week I discuss fasting, traveling with dogs, having an Orange Julius at the Mall of America, and being stalked way too many times for an ugly dumb guy. How have you been? Are you getting your house all decorated in festive display for next week's 100th Episod…

When things go wrong, it doesn’t take much for the emotions of doubt, disbelief, and discouragement to dominate our minds, so much so that we start may questioning if everything we believe is really real. We may question if God is there and if He is really cares about us. Watch this message to learn that God’s delays are not God’s denials. He loves…

The power of Jesus is best revealed in the problems we face. In the midst of our problems we should be asking God to provide a miracle for us - to reveal His power through provision. But we tend to make assumptions about how God should intervene, what He should do, and when He should do it. We might just need a shift in our perspective to see the r…

Hi friends! I'm heading out on vacation tomorrow. Taking our dogs but we're leaving the cats behind. Hope they're going to be okay. I'm a little anxious about it. Someone will be house sitting and checking on them but I'm still stressed about it. Got a lot of things packed up in my travel tote. It's not a purse! I swear! At least I don't think it i…

Rhymes With Decorah is back after our fun mini-series of shows from Lansing, Iowa - and what better topic to talk about than the Service of Rotary International and the Decorah Rotary Club! Join Ward Budweg, Brecka Putnam, and Benji for a conversation about Rotary and all that this incredible organization does - Service above Self! Decorah Rotary R…

The reality is that we are all now in, just getting out of, or just fixing to enter a storm in life. God doesn't sugarcoat this reality in His Word. He tells us many times that there will be storms. But it's just as clear that in those storms, we can have peace in Jesus. Jesus is our anchor in the storm. Watch/listen to this message to see how you …

Hi folks! Welcome to episode 97 of the Outta Toon Podcast! We'll soon be at our 100th show! This week I give an update on life events, look at some strange people and happenings around the world and discuss how we are all artists. I was told this week that the podcast sucks, which most of us already know, so I tried to make this one extra sucky. Le…

Sangerfest 2022, Photo: Beth Skogen Dr. David Judisch, Director of the Luren Singing Society and Director in Chief for the Norwegian Singers Association of America joins us for this episode to talk about Sangerfest - and so much more! Sangerfest is a celebration and gathering of Norwegian Singing Societies from across the country that happens every…

Are you living in abundance? True abundance is formed in the mind and in the heart, in the spiritual center of who we are. It’s a mindset. This doesn't mean that we don't experience real need at times. It can be so hard at times to look around at what we have or what is happening to us and believe we have an abundance, to believe we have more than …

Welsh's Village Farm & Home, Lansing Iowa - Photo Benji Nichols Welcome to "Rhymes With Lansing" - a mini-series of podcast shows featuring just a few of the amazing folks that call Lansing, Iowa home. Recorded in the Spring of 2024, these shows represent a snapshot in time of life in one of Iowa's great, rural, Mississippi River towns. Find the in…

I'm starving here. No food for 24 hours. No food or drink for the next several hours. Today is my colonoscopy. So much fun. Looking forward to a beer and fries though. Also, this weekend is the big birthday. Getting old is not too bad. Might as well celebrate it. I'll keep you updated. Thanks for hanging out, friends. See you again soon.…

Welcome to "Rhymes With Lansing" - a mini-series of podcast shows featuring just a few of the amazing folks that call Lansing, Iowa home. Recorded in the Spring of 2024, these shows represent a snapshot in time of life in one of Iowa's great, rural, Mississippi River towns. Find the intro show to this series here. Melissa & Nick Hammell are both bu…

Photo Courtesy of Walking Space Welcome to "Rhymes With Lansing" - a mini-series of podcast shows featuring just a few of the amazing folks that call Lansing, Iowa home. Recorded in the Spring of 2024, these shows represent a snapshot in time of life in one of Iowa's great, rural, Mississippi River towns. Find the intro show to this series here. An…

"Would you like to get well?" At first glance the question seems ridiculous. Anyone who has had any kind of affliction (physical, mental, emotional, or circumstantial) for any length of time knows the answer is a resounding, "YES!" But do you want to get well enough to do what He says? Watch/listen to this message to find that there are three parts…

Greetings everyone! Welcome to episode 95 of the Outta Toon Podcast! We're speeding quickly toward episode 100 and I'm ready for it how about you? As I prepare to celebrate my birthday in a couple weeks I reflect on just what the heck I've done over my life. What have I accomplished? What have I learned? I've come to realize recently that I've only…

Erin Cubbon, Naturalist, Allamakee Co Conservation Welcome to "Rhymes With Lansing" - a mini-series of podcast shows featuring just a few of the amazing folks that call Lansing, Iowa home. Recorded in the Spring of 2024, these shows represent a snapshot in time of life in one of Iowa's great, rural, Mississippi River towns. Find the intro show to t…

Jesus is all powerful, and all His power is available to you. Watch this message, entitled "Accessing the Power of Christ" from the series More than a Miracle, and begin to live in the power of Christ every day! Click here for Pastor Jeff's Message Notes. Click here for Small Group Discussion Questions. _____________________________________________…

Maryann Baldwin, Lansing Entrepreneur Photo by: Brittany Todd Welcome to "Rhymes With Lansing" - a mini-series of podcast shows featuring just a few of the amazing folks that call Lansing, Iowa home. Recorded in the Spring of 2024, these shows represent a snapshot in time of life in one of Iowa's great, rural, Mississippi River towns. Find the intr…

Lansing, Iowa - Courtesy, Driftless Visitors Center Welcome to a special mini-series of shows we're calling "Rhymes With Lansing" - bringing you stories from "where Main Street meets the Mississippi" in Iowa's very NE Corner. Located in Allamakee County, Lansing is a town of almost 1,000 people ideally tucked into a wooded valley along the Mississi…

Today was a total eclipse of the sun (FYI: There is a total eclipse of the sun every single moment in time, depending upon your location...). Consequently, some religious group assumed this would be a good time for god to do its business. So, how are you? Did you survive? Did you get raptured or eye damage? Hope not. I discovered a very strange thi…

Sometimes we hesitate to pray for the "small" things we need, because we think that Jesus doesn't care about the little things in our lives, especially when other people are going through much bigger things. But He is the God of the big and the little. If it matters to you, it matters to Jesus, because you matter to Jesus! Click here for Pastor Jef…

When we fail at something or let someone down, we often feel deep regret or like we, ourselves, are a failure. But making a mistake doesn’t make you a failure, and it doesn’t keep God from loving you or using you. In this Easter message, Senior Pastor Jeff Maness tells how Peter's denial of Jesus was Peter's greatest failure, but Jesus wasn't done …

Valerie Reinke, Executive Director of Allamakee County Iowa Economic Development & Tourism joins us for this episode of "Rhymes With... Allamakee" Iowa's most Northeastern County is a treasure trove of outdoor beauty, recreation opportunities, and some very dynamic communities. With just over 14,000 people, Allamakee County consists of six small to…

Join us on this episode of "Rhymes With Decorah" as we take an awesome opportunity to talk with Decorah Community School District Nutrition Director and Culinary Specialist Chad Elliott. With deep roots in the Decorah area, Chad brings a background in the commercial food service industry to what may be any communities most important food source - s…

This week I'm counting down one month until my Bedian Birthday. I need something cool to do for celebration. Any ideas? Contact me if you think of something. I've noticed that getting older doesn't mean you don't appreciate the beauty of the human body. Only problem is, no one wants to know. I want to let you know about a couple of awesome document…

Cover image by Anne Butera / MyGiantStrawberry.com Join the WHOLE fam on this show for a rundown on the Spring 2024 Issue of Inspire(d) Magazine! Here's Aryn's editors letter for this issue as well. Don't miss a tiny bit of this beautiful issue (inside and out!). Thanks for listening, reading, and supporting our mission of sharing positive news! Fi…

Communion is a ritual we partake of at least once during each sermon series at The Harbor. Jesus instituted communion at The Last Supper, and told us to "Do this in remembrance of me." We know it has great meaning, but let's go deeper into what it's really all about and see how God orchestrated even the tiniest details to point to the Messiah as fa…

We were created to worship God, and not just on Sundays or in those thankful moments when we recognize His hand on our lives. We were created to worship as a lifestyle, every day and in many ways. This does not necessarily mean we walk around singing worship songs all day. Worship means much more than that. Watch this message, "Worship is a Lifesty…

A return visit from pain has slowed me down the past few days but at this point everything seems to be looking up. I have new understandings about the body and also about who I am. Okay, yeah, this show is a bit metaphysical. Maybe a little spiritual. Not in a bad way, though. I'm having a cold one on this St. Patrick's Day, how about you? Erin go …