“What should we be talking about that we’re not?”

That’s the starting prompt for every installment of “Erin’s One-Question Interview.”

While the answers to this question may change, the quality of these vital, hard-hitting conversations remains the same.

In this episode, Sarah, Erin, and Rachel welcome special guest Carrie Ill to the Lounge to share her personal experience with infertility. Why is it so hard for women to talk about infertility? What is it about this condition that makes it so painful and fraught with grief? How does Lutheran theology shape our ways of thinking about infertility? How can Lutheran women show compassion and sensitivity in their conversations with one another — regardless of family size and fertility struggles?

Carrie Ill is a pastor’s wife, Lutheran schoolteacher, and fellow Lutheran lady.

Resources referenced include: He Remembers the Barren by Katie Schuermann

The National Infertility Association (resolve.org)*

*Note: This is a helpful but not Christian resource; not all guidance given may be in accord with Lutheran doctrine.

For more insight into a Lutheran view on IVF, these posts from The Lutheran Witness provide theological and ethical guidance: witness.lcms.org/tag/ivf

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].

“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord! Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 150:10). As we mark the beginning of the end of Ordinary Time and begin our descent toward the end of the church year, Sarah’s turning her attention to Praise and Adoration hymns in this all-new Hymn Sing episode. Hymns featured include “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty” (LSB 790), “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee” (LSB 803), “Praise God, from Whom All Blessings Flow” (LSB 805), “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” (LSB 809), and “How Great Thou Art” (LSB 801), along with more than a dozen other well-loved classics. Get to know the stories behind the hymns you love — and get better acquainted with hymns you may not yet know well — as you sing along with #hymnnerd Sarah. As always: to learn more about these and other hymns in Lutheran Service Book, check out Lutheran Service Book: Companion to the Hymns, available from CPH. 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].

This riveting episode from August 2024 celebrates America's love of corn culture, so the Ladies wanted to share it again.

Q: Why shouldn’t you tell secrets in a cornfield?

A: Because the corn has ears!

It’s a “cornival” of craziness as Erin leads Sarah and Rachel in an Iron Ladle Challenge celebrating the joys of “corn culture” (or “corny culture”) in midsummer.

After discussing results from a pair of lively listener polls on how to cook and butter corn-on-the-cob (Facebook group members can find those here), the Ladies share their own favorite sweet corn recipes. Which will you try? Rachel’s creamy corn chowder? Sarah’s cowboy caviar? Erin’s colorful confetti corn salad? Or all of the above???

Still can’t get enough corny goodness? Check out this adorable music video on YouTube.

Erin’s Confetti Corn Salad

Vegetables:

• 2 cans corn, drained
• 1 small green pepper, chopped
• 2 green onions, sliced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 large tomato, chopped

Dressing

• 1 Tablespoon lemon juice
• 3 Tablespoons mayo

Directions

• mix dressing
• toss with salad
• add pepper to taste

Rachel’s Corn Chowder

(Measurements are all approximate.)

Dice ½ yellow onion and ¼ green pepper. Sautee in 2 T butter in a heavy pot over medium heat until soft.

Peel, wash, and dice 3 or 4 medium potatoes. Add to pot with water or chicken broth to barely cover.

Add *either* 2 cans creamed sweet corn or 1 quart garden corn from the freezer.

Add salt and pepper (and chicken bullion in place of broth) to taste.

Simmer until potatoes are soft.

Add 2-4 cups whole milk and return to low simmer. (Be careful not to boil after this point.)

Thicken in one of two ways (or both together):

1. Melt ¼ cup butter and 2 T all-purpose flour in a small skillet and stir slowly into chowder.
2. Use potato masher to mash some of the potatoes to release the starch.

Serve with crusty buttered bread.

Sarah’s Cowboy Salad

Mix together:

• Cowboy Caviar Salsa (Trader Joe’s)
• Lettuce
• Shredded cheese
• Taco-spiced beef
• Any other fun salad ingredients because there are no rules.

Sarah just loves cornbread

Betty Crocker recipe with lots of variation: bettycrocker.com/recipes/traditional-cornbread-recipe/8990e15c-fc1d-4a8d-b8b3-4b37f45eca49

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].

Class is back in session, Ladies — one more time (for now)!

Sarah wraps up her studies at Concordia University Irvine’s Townsend Institute for Counseling and Leadership as she revisits her capstone project on humor in the workplace and celebrates the completion of her M.A. in organizational leadership. She also gives Erin and Rachel an eye-opening crash course in different types of humor and how they contribute (or don’t) to workplace morale, team building, and productivity.

Is your favorite style of humor affiliative, self-enhancing, self-defeating, or aggressive? Listen in to find out what those terms mean and which is your default — and learn, too, about how to optimize your use of humor to bring people together and get things done.

“I hope you’re inspired to think about humor in a different way,” says Sarah. “Being funny, witty, or engaging in banter isn’t just a cute thing to do. It has real positive impacts not only in the workplace, but in relationships and in your own mental health.”

At the end of the episode, Sarah announces her next big academic adventure: Concordia Seminary’s Online Deaconess Studies program. Stay tuned!

Click to learn more:

• Concordia University Irvine’s Townsend Institute for Counseling and Leadership
• Concordia University’s Online Deaconess Studies

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].