You wake up late and rush through the morning. You haven’t had your coffee, cereal is all over the floor, and the children are screaming. It’s hard to be thankful. An opportunity you really wanted didn’t work out. You feel hurt, dejected, and maybe even, forgotten by God. It’s hard to be thankful. You’re pouring…
There is a scar on the wall of our garage. Few will ever see it, even fewer know its significance. It emerged slowly, like color bleeding through whitewash on the wall of an ancient building. As the wall continues to yield to the gentle impact of a small gate, the scar has become beauty to…
The Bible instructs us to “give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thess. 5:16-18) and to trade worry for thanksgiving (Phil. 4:6), but the question is how?! In order to appropriately address this question, we need to consider the source of gratitude. Gratitude is the appropriate response to God’s gracious work in the world. It is…
Someday, I will get to the Vatican. I just know it. I’ll stroll through St. Peter’s square, tour the museum, and visit the library. I’ll also pray in the Sistine Chapel, overshadowed by Michelangelo’s famous painting of a male God with flowing white hair, a long beard, and a muscular body. Historical artistic depictions portray…
Over the past year, I’ve enjoyed the Grantchester Mysteries, both the novels by James Runcie and the PBS Masterpiece series. The mysteries feature Sidney Chambers, vicar and amateur detective of Grantchester, England. He spends his time all over town—visiting the sick, walking his dog, fixing faucets, and presiding over village fêtes. He’s available for his…
Despite an upbringing in the church and a few worn out Bibles, I have never considered myself a theologian. According to R. C. Sproul, though, I am one. In Knowing Scripture, he states, “No Christian can avoid theology. Every Christian is a theologian. Perhaps not a theologian in the technical or professional sense, but a…
One of the interesting things about becoming an adult is that I find myself asking fewer questions about the meaning of life. When I was a child, I lobbed a constant barrage of “whys” at my parents from the backseat, the dinner table, or our nightly check-ins before bed. Why is the sky blue? Why…
I froze in horror, humiliated, torn between anger and tears. My leader stared, eyes wide open, deer-in-the-headlights style. Someone had just made it abundantly clear they hated me—right in the middle of a room packed with people. The entire group stilled, mouths agape. I don’t know why they hated me; they chose to spew their…
My last church experience was a mixed bag. It started off strong; my husband and I were brought on as leaders. The pastor was ecstatic about our experience in ministry and told us we were going to be “juggernauts” in the church. I became the office manager, I gathered a group of women together to…
Sammie, a regular attendee at the women’s Bible study I led, invited me to lunch. I had wanted to get to know her better, and I was looking forward to our time. When the waitress arrived, Sammie didn’t order anything, which seemed a little odd, since she had issued the invite. It should have tipped…
A friend on facebook pled, “I beg everyone not to use #alllivesmatter.” If someone else had asked me not to use the hashtag, someone hateful—who didn’t believe that all lives did matter—the request would have been easy to dismiss. But because it was from a friend I trust, a wife and mother who worries about…
If my experience of trying to root out my racial bias and racist tendencies is at all normative, one of the most significant barriers is defensiveness. Though it makes complete sense for whites to feel defensive when the topic of racism comes up, if we want to bring this systemic sin to an end, we…
When I first accepted my congregation’s call to ministry, a friend from another church said, “I don’t know whether to say congratulations or condolences.” He was familiar with the stress that can come with any ministry. “I’m worried for you,” he said. He didn’t want me to become another church casualty. I have now been…
I love to lead and teach. It’s a part of my natural gifting, the way I’m wired. These traits have been evident from an early age. My mom recalls with fondness the authority with which I lined up my stuffed animals in my bedroom after school, demanding their attention and presenting the new material I’d…