Class is back in session, ladies!

Once again, Sarah’s sharing study notes from her graduate courses at Concordia University Irvine’s Townsend Institute for Counseling and Leadership. In this episode on focus and productivity, drawn largely from Michael Hyatt’s Free to Focus: A Total Productivity System to Achieve More by Doing Less, she covers how to:

• STOP. This is where we Formulate, Evaluate, and Rejuvenate.
• CUT. This is where we Eliminate, Automate, and Delegate.
• ACT. This is where we Consolidate, Designate, and Activate.

“Putting some of these concepts into action has helped me so much with focusing my work and productivity – and letting go of the ‘hustle-productivity-do-all-the-things-at-once' culture,” says Sarah.

“We stress ourselves out about doing 'all the things’ and just need a reminder that it’s okay to not do 'all the things.’ We aren’t called to do that. We’re called to serve each other in love because we are forgiven children of God, and that in itself gives us a lot of freedom.”

Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge. Follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), and Erin (@erinaltered) on Instagram!

Sign up for the Lutheran Ladies' Lounge monthly e-newsletter here, and email the Ladies at [email protected].

The Rev. Dr. Scott Stiegemeyer is associate professor of theology and bioethics at Concordia University Irvine; previously, he served as parish pastor of congregations near Pittsburgh, Pa., and Chicago, Ill. In this Kitchen Table Talk conversation, Dr. Stiegemeyer answers pressing questions on AI (artificial intelligence) from an ethical and theological perspective.

How does God’s Word inform our perspective on artificial intelligence? How does AI require us to think deeply about what it truly means to be human? What is it about artificial intelligence that makes it scarier or more troubling for people than many technological innovations that have come before? From a Christian perspective, are there good, bad, and neutral uses for AI? Is AI evil?

" So I don't think we have the luxury of not grappling with because we live in the world, right? Think of it in terms of vocation, that we have a joyful obligation of freedom to serve our neighbor, to be a little Christ for someone else. And so if this thing could be damaging, we should care about how it may damage us and impact our ability to serve the Lord in numerous vocations."

Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge. Follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), and Erin (@erinaltered) on Instagram!

Sign up for the Lutheran Ladies' Lounge monthly e-newsletter here, and email the Ladies at [email protected].

"Personal foul: lack of exciting Super Bowl snacks, on the party host. Fifteen-yard penalty. Repeat snack production."

Don’t want this party foul scenario to happen to you? Sarah, Erin, and Rachel are on your team, and they’ve got your back! In this week’s Iron Ladle Challenge, they’re offering a range of fun and tasty snacks that go way beyond pizza rolls and potato chips. From Rachel’s keto-friendly shrimp salad and no-rice sushi to Sarah’s Sweet Potato Chicken Poppers to Erin’s savory “Cheeseburger Dip ‘All the Way’,” these ideas will help you take your game day buffet to the next level.

From Erin:

Cheeseburger Dip “All The Way”

• 6 slices of bacon
• 1 small-medium onion, chopped fairly small
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• .5 lb ground beef
• Salt and Pepper
• 16 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 8 oz cream cheese/Neufchatel, softened
• Equivalent of 2 medium dill pickles, chopped
• Good blop of mustard
• Healthy squirt of ketchup

Cook the bacon until crispy. Drain on paper towels and then chop. Remove most of the bacon grease and reserve for another use. Return the pan to heat and sauté the onion. Once it is starting to turn golden brown, add the garlic and sauté for a couple more minutes. Transfer the onion mixture to a bowl, along with the chopped bacon.

Return the pan to heat and brown the ground beef, breaking it up well. Season it with salt and pepper. Once it is browned (not just cooked, you want some of that good Maillard browning!!!!!), transfer to the bowl with the onions. If your beef is very fatty, you can drain some of that off first.

Add the cheddar cheese and cream cheese. Stir to combine. Heat this mixture, stirring frequently- either on the stove top, in the microwave, or in a crockpot. As the cheese melts, mix in the pickles, mustard and ketchup.

Taste it. What does it need more of? Add that.

Serve with tortilla chips.

Note: you could sub ground turkey for the ground beef. If you do that, you should use more of the reserved bacon grease.

Additional Recipes from Erin:

Sardine Rillettes - Little French Bakery

Anchovy Butter - The Two Bananas

From Sarah:

Sweet Potato Chicken Poppers - Unbound Wellness

Maple Roasted Almonds - From It's A Veg World After All

From Rachel:

Keto Shrimp Salad Bites - Healthy Little Peach

No-Rice Low-Carb Sushi

Thinly spread a one-inch strip of cream cheese on a sheet of nori.

Add toppings to taste (preferably cut longwise):

• Leg-style imitation crab meet
• Avocado
• Cucumber spears
• Green onions
• Shrimp salad (see recipe above)
• Get creative!

Carefully roll the toppings in the nori, using another dab or two of cream cheese to seal the edge if needed. Let sit for a few minutes for the nori to soften. Cut into generous (two-inch or so) slices — too thin and they’ll fall apart. Serve with soy sauce and wasabi.

Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge. Follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), and Erin (@erinaltered) on Instagram!

Sign up for the Lutheran Ladies' Lounge monthly e-newsletter here, and email the Ladies at [email protected].

Rachel leads Sarah and Erin in a lively romp through their latest Lutheran Ladies’ Book Club selection, Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre.

What does this book written by a woman about a woman surrounded by women teach us about what it means to be a woman? How comfortable are we really with Jane and Rochester's May/December, boss/employee romance? How well do the book’s many religious moments and messages fit within a Lutheran worldview? What difference does it make in a person’s life to know how to forgive others — quickly, freely, and completely?

At the end of the episode, the Ladies announce their next book club pick: Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness.

Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge. Follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), and Erin (@erinaltered) on Instagram!

Sign up for the Lutheran Ladies' Lounge monthly e-newsletter here, and email the Ladies at [email protected].

At the beginning of this new calendar year, Sarah’s celebrating beginnings — specifically those hymns in the “Beginning of Service” section of Lutheran Service Book. These classic favorites may sometimes go unnoticed and unappreciated, sitting as they do at the very back of the hymnal, but there’s nothing unlovable about them.

Hymns covered in this episode include “Open Now Thy Gates of Beauty (LSB 901), LSB 902 “Lord Jesus Christ, Be Present Now” (LSB 902), “Come, Thou Almighty King” (LSB 905), “O Day of Rest and Gladness” (LSB 906), “God Himself Is Present” (LSB 907), and “Christ Is Our Cornerstone” (LSB 912).

Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook group members click here to view and participate in our ongoing poll!

Learn more about the Friedenkirchen (“Churches of Peace”) discussed at length in the episode here.

Hear musicians from Immanuel Lutheran Church in Saint Charles, Missouri, perform "Lord, We’ve Come This Day to Worship” (the dark horse hymn of the episode) on YouTube.

Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge. Follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), and Erin (@erinaltered) on Instagram!

Sign up for the Lutheran Ladies' Lounge monthly e-newsletter here, and email the Ladies at [email protected].

There's a star in the East, and Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar — together with their newfound friend and hanger-on Trish (who has just completed her "spiritual road trip certification") — are on an epic journey to worship the Christ child in the manger.

Will they opt for meaningful and traditional gifts (gold, frankincense, myrrh), or impulse buy the adorable onesie instead? Will they fall for Herod's duplicity, or decide that he definitely doesn't "pass the vibe check"? And will Trish lead the whole party astray at the first Chick-fil-A sign she sees?

Former co-host Bri Gerzevske (along with her hilarious alter ego, Trish) is back for an all-new Epiphany Radio Theatre sketch: "The Four Magi Road Trippin'."

Disclaimer: This episode is satire, Trish is a fictional character, and we already know our script probably wouldn't pass LCMS Doctrinal Review on the first try. Enjoy.

Click to browse previous episodes of Bri's Radio Theatre.

Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge. Follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), and Erin (@erinaltered) on Instagram!

Sign up for the Lutheran Ladies' Lounge monthly e-newsletter here, and email the Ladies at [email protected].

“ You have told a story that no other living person could have told us.”

This Wild Card episode is a glimpse into KFUO Radio’s rich 100 years of history with audio from KFUO’s 25th Anniversary in 1949. KFUO Host Elmer Knoernschild interviewed Certified Lutheran Lady Mrs. Kretzschmar, who was the wife of one of KFUO’s founders, the Rev. Dr. Richard Kretzschmar. In this conversation, she shared her memories of those very early days of KFUO Radio and how the Lord made this dream of a radio ministry a reality.

 “Dr. Maier very often has something to say about that meeting that we were in. I said, oh yes, that day I thought you were both dreaming. He said, I thought that myself.”

“That's right, but it was a dream that came true. The Lord saw to that.”

Find more KFUO history at kfuo.org/100.

Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge. Follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), and Erin (@erinaltered) on Instagram!

Sign up for the Lutheran Ladies' Lounge monthly e-newsletter here, and email the Ladies at [email protected].

The Rev. Dr. John Kleinig is emeritus lecturer at Luther College, Adelaide, South Australia, and author of several books on Lutheran theology and spirituality, including Grace upon Grace, Wonderfully Made, and the volume on Prayer in the Lutheran Spirituality Series. In this warm and pastoral Kitchen Table Talk conversation originally from February 23, 2024, Dr. Kleinig answers vital questions on prayer from a biblical Lutheran perspective.

What is prayer? What different forms does it take? Is there such a thing as a “Lutheran rosary”? How does Christ teach us to pray, even today, through His Word? What does it really mean to pray “in Jesus’ name”?

For further reading, check out the following books by Dr. Kleinig, which were referenced in the episode:

• Lutheran Spirituality: Prayer
• Grace upon Grace: Spirituality for Today
• Wonderfully Made: A Protestant Theology of the Body

For further listening, check out our Lutheran Ladies’ Book Club discussion of Wonderfully Made.

Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge. Follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), and Erin (@erinaltered) on Instagram!

Sign up for the Lutheran Ladies' Lounge monthly e-newsletter here, and email the Ladies at [email protected].

How well do you know your favorite holiday songs? We're revisiting an episode of Rachel’s Trivia Challenge—all about Christmas carols!

Which beloved Christmas Eve hymn originally referenced Baby Jesus’s curly hair? Which carol writer once posed as the Virgin Mary for a famous pre-Raphaelite painting? Which faux medieval ballad is regularly sung at Boar’s Head Festivals around the country? And the trickiest question of all: which Christmas carol is Sarah’s all-time favorite (today)?

A lightning round at the end challenges listeners to identify carols based only on the title or first line of the song in its language of origin.

Click through to listen to previous Rachel’s Trivia Challenge episodes.

Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge. Follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), and Erin (@erinaltered) on Instagram!

Sign up for the Lutheran Ladies' Lounge monthly e-newsletter here, and email the Ladies at [email protected].

Five years after their first Christmas Poetry Slam in 2019 (routinely “regifted” ever since), the Ladies have finally picked up their pens to write a fresh batch of poems for the holiday season.

And this time, they have help.

Joining Sarah, Erin, and Rachel in the Lounge are authors Katie Schuermann and Lisa Clark. Together, they share original Christmas poems ranging from psalms of lament to epic odes to hilarious parodies. Whether you cry or laugh (or do both at once), you’ll almost certainly be inspired to make poetry a more regular part of your holiday celebrations.

Katie Schuermann is a household name in many LCMS circles, beloved for her cozy novels (among them, our summer book club pick The Saints of Whistle Grove) and for her nonfiction books including He Remembers the Barren and Pew Sisters. Click to visit Katie’s website or browse her books from Concordia Publishing House, Kloria Publishing, and Emmanuel Press. Download the music for her poem "The Last Shall Be First" here.

Lisa M. Clark is an editor at Concordia Publishing House and the author of devotions, picture books, Bible curricula, Christmas programs, young adult novels — and literally hundreds of original hymn texts. Click to browse Lisa Clark’s books at Concordia Publishing House.

Connect with the Lutheran Ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and on Instagram @lutheranladieslounge. Follow Sarah (@hymnnerd), Rachel (@rachbomberger), and Erin (@erinaltered) on Instagram!

Sign up for the Lutheran Ladies' Lounge monthly e-newsletter here, and email the Ladies at [email protected].