Awhile back I went to Disneyland with a friend and her two small boys. After waiting in one of the labyrinthine lines for a ride, her 4-year-old said to me with a sigh, “It’s a hard time.” His mother clarified that he meant it was a long time – he often mixed up his descriptors.… Continue reading a hard time
I recently heard someone make an important observation about trusting God: It’s important to pray with expectancy, but without expectations. Simple… but not easy. Especially when we can perfectly map out the exact steps we believe would be best for our lives. And then proceed to trust God to meet our very specific expectations. But… Continue reading trusting and expecting
I made my house payment today. Normally, this would be unremarkable, except that it happens to be due tomorrow, and as of Saturday I did not have enough money in hand to pay it. I have a department store paycheck coming this week. And a freelance check. And I requested some money from a CD… Continue reading looking for the unseen
Thanksgiving is here, and I thought it might be interesting to remember what some other people thought about thankfulness. Some people who sort of got the whole thing started. The very first Thanksgiving proclamation was written in 1676 by the governing council of Charlestown, Massachusetts. They declared “…a day of Solemn Thanksgiving and praise to… Continue reading about giving thanks
It’s Thanksgiving week, and I want to do what I can to temporarily stave off the onslaught of Christmas commercialism. Over $400 billion dollars of consumer spending is looming out there, not to mention the success or failure of the entire national economy, and they are determined to have you start yesterday! What are you… Continue reading gratitude is good for you
It’s Thanksgiving week, so I figured this would be a good time to write an update on my unemployed life. Actually, that’s not true. I’ve been thinking about writing an update for some time, but putting it off. Because frankly, it turns out I’ve just been a spectacular failure at this faith stuff. You know… Continue reading thankful for the unknown
I came across this post from a couple years back expecting it to be funny, and discovered it to be quite cleverly serious: “Top Ten Reasons Why Men Should Not be Ordained.” Reversing the arguments in any discussion of male/female issues can often shine a light on unacknowledged (and unsupported) bias – and it goes… Continue reading why men should be excluded from leadership
If you’re like me, you’ve probably heard the story of the prodigal son about a hundred times in various church services and sermons. Usually, it’s taught as an example of sin, repentance and restoration. But I recently had the opportunity to hear a lecture that made some considerably deeper theological observations. There are two key… Continue reading being lost – and found
Jesus was a brilliant metaphorical theologian. This was another insight from the conference I attended in Thailand. 1. He told an entertaining story 2. The story revolved ethical issues and values 3. The story included a hidden message about the Kingdom 4. The story might include a Christological reference. Interestingly, metaphors help us link our… Continue reading jesus and metaphor
At the conference I attended in Thailand, there was quite a lot of discussion about living under grace versus the law. As Christians, we humbly and gratefully accept God’s grace in our life. Almost immediately, we set about doing everything we humanly can to keep it. And helpfully pointing out to others where they can… Continue reading read different
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