Today marks the one year anniversary of the tragedy in Charlottesville, Virginia. We are re-posting this piece, written last August, as Christ's call to radical love,alongside conversations about racism and injustice, continue to ring true and remain urgent. Together we can do better, striving as...
My church recently experienced three instances of people asking for money—all on the same Sunday. Two people came into the building, one during worship and one after worship, and one person stood outside the church, seeking money from parishioners as they left. Our experiences that...
Saturday was a horrific, tragic day in the annals of the United States of America. Peaceful protestors were confronted with violence. A young woman lost her life simply for daring to say no to racism. A hate group gathered to spread its toxic message and...
Spirituality is intensely personal. Well, “ duh.” Of course it is, you might be thinking. What we often fail to consider, however, is that while the personal nature of faith is rather obvious, the implications are not. Educators have long made us aware that learning...
August 3, 2017 Five years ago a dear friend gave me the book, One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp. It was a delight to read and packed a profound message, inviting me to pay more attention to the graces all around me—everything from the taste...
Control. I like to be in control. Or, I at least like the illusion of control, because that’s what control is—an illusion. This love affair with control is one of the major areas in which my faith most convicts and challenges me. It’s a good process,...
One of my favorite books is Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst. Poor Alexander. He is having one of those days, a day when everything that can go wrong, does go wrong. A day that goes from bad...
Celebrations are an essential part of being human. We seem to have an innate need to mark pivotal events or moments in our lives. So, we celebrate anniversaries, graduations and birthdays. We erect monuments and memorials. We wear wedding rings. This week, of course, we...
One step outside reminds us that summer is here, and we are graced with opportunities to live life in a different rhythm. If you have little ones, you already know that you are living by a different “clock.” I remember being a little shell-shocked during...
Worship is a funny thing. I spend a lot of my time—meaning, I spend a lot of my life—thinking about, praying about, planning, and executing worship for my church. Along with our church musicians, who are an absolute gift, not to mention a joy to...