What does a snapshot of the church look like? A few years ago, I received an invitation to a difficult task: to preside over the funeral of a young woman who who died after a struggle with substance addiction. I am an ordained pastor. This part of the job is never easy. It demands recognizing […]
The Importance of Remembering Shared Humanity
Encountering our shared humanity is uncomfortable at times. Several years ago, I, along with my then preschool aged two children, made a routine trip to the grocery store. As I pulled into my parking space, I suddenly realized my error. If you have ever hit or bumped into another car, you know the instant whirlwind […]
How Choosing Self Care Is a Healthy Form of Control
I have never been a fan of surprises. Chalk it up to a mixture of personality (enneagram 1), life experiences, and birth order, I like to be in control. I have written before about wanting to be in the front car of a rollercoaster so I can see what’s ahead. I admit I have experienced […]
Why God’s Rescuing Leads to Liberation
I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom I am sending you 18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in […]
Why I Can Start Stepping Out of Boxes
Currently, I am living in boxes. Not for any legitimate reason. I do not need them for physical protection. My zeal for imagination did not take me back to my childhood. I’ve written about how my friends and I transformed a refrigerator box into an infinite number of purposes and places. Living out of those […]
Why Releasing Our Children to New Places Reminds us of Our Purpose
A few weeks ago, we took our youngest child to college. I confess I started counting down the weeks to that moment even as the summer days appeared endless. This transitional season brought with it plenty of questions and grief for me. While I knew my son’s new place of residence was where God wanted […]
