I pray for the congregation at Emanuel AME Church and those near and dear to them; still, I am shamed that a time of tragedy is what prompts me to pray and to remember the larger Christian family that exists beyond the borders of my community. [Click title to read more.]
Category: Christianity
As A Christian, Doing Your Best Is Not The Exception. It’s The Rule.
God obviously doesn't expect that every Christian will be a CEO or a straight-A student or first chair violin in the orchestra. But he does expect wholehearted effort, exemplary behavior, and diligent work: the fundamental elements, in other words, of a good student, a good worker, a good citizen. [Click title to read more.]
Cultivating Careful Speech
If we aren't careful, we can reduce the revolutionary concept of cultivating careful, loving speech - words that are like "fresh water" (James 3:11) - to anodyne truisms like "don't use profanity" or "don't gossip" and sometimes "don't say mean things about people" and pretend that's enough. In reality, mastering godly speech is a far more difficult and complex endeavor. [Click title to read more.]
Weekly Round-Up
Let's catch up, pray, and rest together.
Christian Peer Pressure: When It’s Okay To Be Out Of Step Sometimes
The thing is, peer pressure to participate in certain activities or trends or events exists among Christians as much as it exists in any other group, and I'd argue that for Christians it's especially difficult to navigate, because we often wonder if it's okay not to like something "godly," or to want to do something different than all of the believers around us are doing. When is it okay to take a pass and not participate, to be the odd duck of the group? [Click title to read more.]
Alone and Known Before God
It's self-editing. We all do it. And whether we realize it or not, we do it in our day-to-day life as much as we do it on Facebook. As humans, we're constantly censoring our lives and presenting some careful "best" version of ourselves to others. We cut out the parts of ourselves we deem unsavory or unnecessary, and we showcase the best ones for everyone to see. But God always and eternally sees our whole and unadulterated self. [Click title to read more.]
Sports and Misleading Narratives of Christian Victory: Or, That Time I Swore I’d Shave Off My Eyebrows
It's interesting to me that we never equate God's victory with loss. That we never equate God with the less-than-happy-end, or with what happens when things don't turn out right. The team that slumps into the locker room doesn't say, "Well, He's the reason we're here." After a fumble or a turnover, the football player doesn't crouch and quietly thank God.
Please Don’t Make Me Shake Hands: A Christian’s Plea
If we're not careful, the exhortation to "welcome each other" on Sunday mornings results in a slew of awkward hugs and handshakes, a few cheerful "good morning"s, and conversations between people who already know each other and want to catch up on the weekend. [Click title to read more.]
God’s Sacrifice
I still don't know why God does what he does. I still wonder about the tension between what God can do and what God will do and why sometimes our faith doesn't move mountains - even when we have as much as we can muster. But God asks so little of us in comparison to what He has demanded of Himself to love us. Truly, He is not far. [Click title to read more.]
To Those Who Are Struggling
On the frustrating day, on the dark day, on the hopeless day, our prayers and our faith - tarnished and stumbling and broken as they are - shine brighter. And what matters the most is not if they are strong, and not if they are hopeful, and not if they are packed with praise, but that they are there at all. [Click title to read more.]
Samaritan's Song 