We hear a lot about the prophet Elijah in the church, very little about his successor, Elisha. I find that curious because Elisha’s impact on the narrative of God was enormous. When the prophetic mantle is first being passed, Elisha asks…
Read MoreSometimes I think my best art is my journal writing just between me and God. There is no pressure to be liked. There is no fear of being wrong. There is no insecurity about someone else’s art being better than mine. There is no worry that someone might think I’m cheesy or lame or too cynical or too cheerful. I just say what I’m thinking and feeling, and he hears…
Read MoreWhile we are just reaching the end of February, January may feel months away. And, if you are someone who sets goals at the beginning of each year, you may be coming to terms with the fact that you are already behind on your reading goals. Well, we’re not here to judge, but we would like to help, so we came up with this list of five short(ish) books that might just help you get back on track.
Read MoreWhen I look at the church and the body I belong to in Grayslake, IL, I am so thankful. We are blessed with many kind, hardworking, compassionate brothers and sisters who know the Bible and love Jesus. Then, when I step back and ponder the big “C” worldwide Church, I am…
Read More“Mom, can we leave now?” my four-year-old whispered (Thank God!) to me as the Sunday sermon began. “No, not yet,” I whispered back. “Ugh, waiting is sooo haaaaard,” she responded. This is a response she has been dolling out a lot lately—when I can’t stop…
Read More“Do you think we are going to make it?” Every vocation asks this eventually. When husband and wife see beyond the fig leaves that covered all the shame during courtship and early marriage, one asks “Are we going to make it?” When friendship hits that make-or-break moment, one asks, “Is this friendship worth it?” Some vocations…
Read MoreIn America rivalry is everything. Competition drives the market - not just economically but in the realm of athletics, academia, music, and social media. As a result, a misconception is perpetuated that equality exists for all citizens of our society. Americans, in general, only care to promote equality when it best serves their own interests. I am not referring to the great civil rights movements throughout the course of American history but to the…
Read MoreFaith opens receptivity to creation, kindles wonder, and evokes gratitude. It is, in fact, the abundant life Jesus promises, not a life where everything is always delightful, since we too find crosses set before us, but a life open to the whole gamut of experience, ups, and downs, voiced in praise and lament, given word in the Psalter, the book which is true “know thyself,” as Luther put it, precisely because it gives voice to the full range of human experience.
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