You can take a metaphor just so far before it falls apart. If I am like the moon which reflects the light of the sun, my light source is outside, not attached to me at all. But my source of light— and life, warmth, love, all that I am— is not only outside of me… Read More
Jesus’ life of scandal
something that is shocking, upsetting, or unacceptable Jesus began his life with scandal—a young girl impregnated by the Holy Spirit. Who’s going to ever believe that crazy story? Not Joseph, the man she was betrothed to. Not her parents. Not her friends. Not the village elders. Or the gossips or… Read More
“Are you the one?”
I have a need to know, to understand how and why, to figure out how things work, to comprehend the ins and outs of people’s thinking, including my own. I love the light-bulb moment when all is illuminated, when things make sense, when I can see how we got from there to here. And so… Read More
Any Life But This One!
What if you could wave a wand and erase all the circumstances in your life that you’re unhappy with? Wouldn’t that be great? Let’s continue with the wand idea, but this time, apply it to a lovely little girl Gabriella. Once you read through the outline of her life, you have five minutes to wave… Read More
Urgency and Advent
Oil and Water. Truth and Grace. Urgency and Advent. These things don’t mix. Except when God is a part of the picture. God anoints you as his child and gives you living water. God knows the real you and, by his grace, loves you anyway. But because the truth demands justice, his son came to… Read More
Thanks-Living
It’s been a month since my last blog entry. It wasn’t a planned break–at least not by me. It started on the eliptical at the gym. Ten minutes into his exercise session, my husband felt pressure on his heart, but it went away as soon as he stopped. When it happened a second time, he… Read More
Ephesians 3:7-8 What’s your excuse?
What’s stopping you from doing God’s mission for you? When I read through Paul’s list of excuses, I was surprised at the similarity to mine. I had always thought of Paul as an extremely confident, know-it-all kind of guy, and here I was reading a list of his anxieties about himself–lots of excuses giving his… Read More
