Christmas or Nativity

Truly, we find ourselves in the season of holidays. While I once demanded this season is only about one holiday—Christmas—I can’t help but see that, more and more, I was deluded by a cultural message ingrained in me. Power, dominance, my way, or else… More than ever, marketing schemes have banked on Christians inserting theirContinue reading “Christmas or Nativity”

My encounter with a human

I would never move my family across the world unless I knew it was highly advantageous for their well being… honestly, I have looked into it. I have done quick searches on job availability and researched the lay of a far off land. It is way more daunting than I have energy to consider seriously.Continue reading “My encounter with a human”

Finding Happy (when it is fleeting)

Yesterday morning, my husband and I walked through a farmer’s market then crossed a bridge and wove our way down quiet streets, around traffic cones and construction fences, and along a river to a Japanese garden. I wish my imagination was grand enough to have allowed me to melt into the garden and transport toContinue reading “Finding Happy (when it is fleeting)”

Where did she come from?

I never imagined myself walking beside a teen daughter. I think, with her being my last child, I just figured I would step into the next season without much consideration. I’d been mothering for a long while already. However, it really is different than raising teen sons. I was a teen daughter once. And thereContinue reading “Where did she come from?”

Goodness

No matter how folks twist who they think Christ is in these days of power and policy, let us remember Who Christ was by what He didn’t do…and what He did. Who He was and is and always shall be: “Have you ever wondered why Jesus, the God of the whole universe…did nothing to stopContinue reading “Goodness”

Traces of Hatred

I am desperate to weed out the anger, the hatred, the prejudice from my heart. There is nothing in the way of Christ that looks like the climate today—the twisting of politics and doctrine, the excuses for hate speech and elitism. Why is it so easy to fall into the tossing waves of this worldContinue reading “Traces of Hatred”

Traces of Hatred

I am desperate to weed out the anger, the hatred, the prejudice from my heart. There is nothing in the way of Christ that looks like the climate today—the twisting of politics and doctrine, the excuses for hate speech and elitism. Why is it so easy to fall into the tossing waves of this worldContinue reading “Traces of Hatred”

Coldness of Heart

“In our culture, if someone spoke about coldness of the heart, we would likely describe it as an emotional issue, and dismiss it or diminish it as merely unfortunate. If, on the other hand, we were to speak about something interfering with our acquisition of information, we would treat it as a crisis of first-order.Continue reading “Coldness of Heart”

Who do they say that I am?

“Note that he is not asking them their own opinion. Rather, he asks the opinion of the people. Why? In order to contrast the opinion of the people with the disciples answer to the question “But who do you say that I am?” In this way, by the manner of his inquiry, they might beContinue reading “Who do they say that I am?”

Too Great

“Christianity is a lifestyle – a way of being in the world that is simple, non-violent, shared, and loving. However, we made it into an established “religion” (and all that goes with that) and avoided the lifestyle change itself. One could be warlike, greedy, racist, selfish, and vain in most of Christian history, and stillContinue reading “Too Great”