A good friend recently reminded me that God can grab our attention when we least expect it. That very next morning, as I was journaling during my devotion time, my focus was pulled to the scripture verse at the bottom of my journal, “In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust...
For the past few years, I’ve had a complicated relationship with Easter. In early April 2014, I lost one of my best friends from college in a scuba diving accident. A few weeks later, I missed church on Easter because I was on a plane for a family trip. Well, I don’t really...
“The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the LORD commanded.” (Exodus 17:1 NIV) There is a distance that curls ‘roundbodies of trees clothed in shaky silver,hesitating in the bend to expressthat lofty ceiling of...
I don’t know what your internal monologue sounds like, but mine often includes a lot of the word should. I should have already finished that project. I should have prayed more before making a decision. I should have said what I really felt instead of what...
A long time ago, I had two friends, who I’ll call Jamil and Abby. Jamil identified as an atheist, while Abby often said she believed in God but would only identify as Christian if she had to choose a religion. One day, I tuned in on a conversation between the two of them at the...
I never knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. Some of my friends always knew they wanted to be teachers, doctors, or lawyers. But not me. One thing that I have always known, however, is that I want a family of my own. My longing to find a partner to build a life and face...
A couple of weeks ago, on March 29, as I was driving with my sons, I realized, Today is my seventeenth Jesus-versary. Seventeen years ago, a very young twenty-one-year-old, I went on a weeklong retreat where I studied the book of Mark for 8-10 hours a day and had a very intense...
I don’t really believe in prayer. I’m not talking about mindfulness or centering or yoga-breath-prayer or contemplation in nature—all of which have immediate, easily measurable embodied benefits. I am talking about intercessory prayer the way Jesus, Paul, and your...
Countless sermons over two thousand years of Christian history have done a great disservice to Thomas Didymus, otherwise known as “Doubting Thomas.” I believe it’s high time we repair his image. If you are a natural skeptic like me, I’m sure you agree—in as...
When I was young, I tended to see things in black and white. In many ways, my mind was closed for repairs. My understanding of Scripture was likewise rigid. Theological positions were mountains to conquer and debates to be won. I arrived at a place where I thought all my questions were...