Tapestry

The earliest record I have of one of my ancestors converting to Christianity comes from two centuries ago near the French town of Strasbourg. “Papa” Oberlin—as my father’s people called their pastor—brought the gospel to hungry villagers subsisting on milk-soaked grass. Along with the gospel came instruction on agricultural practices such that today the same valley is one of the world’s richest foodie destinations.

Mixed-gender communication is imperative for healthy sacred sibling relationships. But we find many women struggle. They are either too quiet when they need to speak up, or they say too much at the wrong time. Let’s look at a woman who found that middle ground between silence and aggression. She was not afraid to tell Jesus exactly what she needed.

I must admit it's true. Most of these screaming fits occur in the middle of the night after everyone else is asleep and my mind refuses to shut down. If you're wondering why I don't awaken everyone in my house, it is only because my screaming fits occur almost exclusively  inside my head. Ironically it's usually in the midst of such fits that God speaks to me most clearly.

As of late my brain has not done much thinking unless it has had to.  You know, the kind of thinking that processes, solves problems, makes decisions, sets the world right (or thinks it can), dissects Scripture, makes connections, etc.  Instead my brain has been in wonder and curiosity.

Recently a friend called with an urgent prayer request; she’d been summoned ASAP to her son’s private Christian school and they wouldn’t say why.  She was concerned about her eight-year-old anyway because of some traumatic life situations they had been weathering, and she feared that maybe he was acting out because of how difficult his life had been.

As we move through the story of Christ and his body, we come to the forty-day season of Lent. It is a time of fasting and prayer to prepare for Easter, the most joyous and victorious day of the Christian year.

Lent represents the forty days Christ withdrew and fasted as he prepared for his earthly ministry. During this time, waiting for that point when Christ would be his weakest, Satan threw his full forces at Christ: you don't have to do this, Satan said. There's an easier way.

Because I teach a seminary class that explores the role of women in ministry from a biblical perspective (looking especially at 1 Cor 11, 1 Cor 14 and 1 Tim 2), people often ask me what books I require. So today, I’m posting that list along with some comments.