About a year ago, we started praying together as a family after dinner. With two three-year-olds at the table, brevity is important and direction is necessary. The predictability of a prayer schedule has helped the kids participate with increasing independence, though we’ll still get the occasional, “I don’t know what to say,” and have to … Continue reading A Weekly Family Prayer Schedule
Just as we struggle to love our families and friends, we will walk through seasons or situations in which we lack love for our pastors. This may be due to bitterness towards their sin, frustration with their shortcomings, or the arrogance of our own hearts. At other times, we may take them for granted and … Continue reading 4 Ways to Love Your Pastor
“I just don’t feel called to sexual purity.” “Reading the Bible isn’t my gifting.” “It’s great that you pray, but I follow God in other ways.” Faithful Christians and churches would rightly find these statements concerning. Yet it seems that demonstrating mercy to the needy is often talked about in similar ways. We affirm that … Continue reading The Mercy Mandate
I just saw someone arrested. I was walking towards a grocery store when I noticed a man on the ground surrounded by 4 other men. They all looked concerned, so I initially thought he must've had a seizure. I walked over and asked if there was anything I could do to help. The men looked … Continue reading An Arrest and Victor Hugo
Meet Emily. My beautiful sister-in-law and beloved aunt to my three kids. For the past several months Emily has babysat for me every Friday morning. She does this so that I can serve a local Syrian refugee family. During these mornings I either work with "M" who is diagnosed with autism, play with "J" and … Continue reading Behind-The-Scenes Service: Unglamorous and Irreplaceable
Today, most of our newsfeeds will fill with Martin Luther King Jr. quotes. We'll celebrate his stand for racial justice, his pointed voice of wisdom, his peaceful stance in the midst of violent hate. But how many of us will question whether or not we would have been such enthusiastic supporters 50 years ago? We … Continue reading Dear White People: An Exhortation to Celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day Differently
I love my kids like crazy, but mothering is hard and my sins are many. I am prone to discouragement, and wallowing in my failures only leads to more of them. It is looking to Christ that fends off condemnation and gives the power to change. He is the hope-giver and the heart-changer for crappy … Continue reading Sometimes I’m a Really Crappy Mom
..."remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" Acts 20:35 Do we remember these words? Or, more importantly, do we really believe them? So often, the snares, struggles, and sins we face in our Christian walk are related to unbelief. We have this … Continue reading Believing Jesus: Is it really more blessed to give than to receive?
I never read Kisses from Katie. I knew her general story from a friend who loved it, but I didn't get around to checking it out myself. I'll admit to being a little skeptical. How could a 23-year-old adopt 13 kids and actually function well as a mother? Perhaps this skepticism is one reason that … Continue reading Daring to Hope Book Review
I've never considered myself an overly-critical person. I typically think of overly-critical people as miserable, ungrateful, difficult to please, and always dissatisfied with the people in their life. I don't really fit that description. I'm pretty easy-going. I tend to like people and get along with them. I'm low-maintenance relationally. I make a practice of … Continue reading Criticism: Kill it or Make it Constructive
