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Lent: A Primer
Today is “Mardi Gras,” which means “Fat Tuesday.” In many parts of the world, people call Mardi Gras “Pancake Day” or Shrove Tuesday, and they eat stacks of syrup-covered cakes in celebration. Pancake Day is the liturgical polar-opposite of a last-chance workout. Because Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, people snarf up all the stuff from which they’ll fast for the next forty days. Items included in the traditional “fast” were sugar, butter, flour and eggs—which, if you mix them up, make pancake batter. So, people made pancakes out of the ingredients they needed to use up, and they consumed the resulting “stacks” the day before austerity set in. Voila! The story…
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How I Almost Ruined My Marriage
It was 1:00 am. With blood shot eyes I sat wringing my hands on our faux leather couch. The seams are busted on the edges so the puff is spilling out. I’ve contemplated putting tape over these eruptions but really…who wants to be THAT person. I sat contemplating whether or not I should mend the seams in the couch or just own the mess and cover it, maybe a pillow will do or that really cool washi tape that’s all the rage. That fateful night our couch became the backdrop for one of the realest fights we’ve had to date. Past arguments about leaving the milk out, or even what…
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Leading Men’s Small Groups – How To Support Men Going Through Difficult Times
Once men start to open up, it is not unusual to discover significant past or present pain and failure. No matter how much we try to communicate that the church is a place for sinners, fellow strugglers, and wounded people, non-Christians and immature Christians will always feel that they are the only ones who struggle in the church. Often they will hide these struggles for fear that they will not be liked if people know the “real” them.
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Theology of Self-Care
Is self-care selfish or unspiritual? Some churches and Christian circles say “yes.” And while today’s popular self-care strategies may have a bent toward self-serving interests, a biblical perspective of self-care is holistic, worshipful, and others-centered. Self-Care Involves All Aspects of Ourselves God designed us as complex, whole persons (Ps. 139:13–16). We do not—like a computer or machine—consist of parts, but encompass spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, psychological, and relational aspects in our intricate design. When we take care of ourselves, we can’t just target one aspect of ourselves. We need take a holistic approach to self-care. After my husband and I married, I moved from Lubbock to Dallas. In Lubbock, I…
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May I Take Up Your Trash?
During a recent training event, I sat with fellow leaders chatting over lunch. Our meal filled us with necessary sustenance, but what now remained on our plates was unconsumable, gross substance. As lunch came to an end, Douglass, one of the leaders, stood up, glanced around the table, extended his hand, and asked, “may I take up your trash?”
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Leading Men’s Small Groups – Success Keys 7-9
As followers of Christ, we are called to “make disciples.” This happens best through the method of small groups. In small groups, people experience true fellowship. They are able to share their joys and pain, they are challenged and held accountable to continued spiritual growth, and friendships are established for a lifetime. More simply put, lives are transformed for Christ and leaders developed for service in the Kingdom. The Holy Spirit does something in the lives of people in small groups that is profound, powerful and important, as people enter into an intimate relationship with God and each other.
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How Do We Help? Two Questions for Every Socialist-Leaning Candidate
At an ethics forum at the University of Oregon in 2012, Christian author Dinesh D’Souza and atheist Michael Shermer were both asked by a concerned Christian, “In my understanding of Christ’s teachings, taking care of the poor and the sick was of utmost importance. So I was hoping you could talk about why you don’t think that universal healthcare is a very important question for Christians these days.” In this election year his question still resonates. Is voting for universal health care a moral imperative for Christians? Is voting for socialized medicine in particular and socialism in general a more moral alternative to a free market economy? D’Souza’s response raises…
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Hooray for Adam and Eve
I would like to introduce you to Kurt Jarvis, one of our Bible.org authors. He recently returned from South Africa where he taught and modeled children’s stories. This is one he used. Kurt and Judy provided training to the school teachers and orphanage house mothers and others who work with the children and youth at this place [The Fold ] and training workshops in other locations in that region as a missions training tour. Attached is his lesson for you if you would like to use it: “Adam and Eve Script” Audience interactive story Directions: Make up audience flash signs in advance on chart paper with the words: Hooray for…
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I Want to Start a YouTube Channel!
Have you guys seen the latest stats on the top YouTube earners from this past year? It’s crazy, an 8-year-old boy named Ryan earned $26 million last year from his YouTube channel. The next guy down made $20 million. Seems to me, that if you are seriously creative and have some really good equipment, you too could be a multi-millionaire. Believe me, that logic is plausible especially after viewing several videos from “Ryan’s World”. You see, young Ryan plays with toys and then acts like a professional critic, making judgement calls on what is fun, not so fun and how toys could improve. Brilliant really, if you think about it.…
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More Than We Can Handle
My guest blogger today is Susan Breeding. She shares her hard-won wisdom about suffering. A quote that has been making the rounds for years says, “God will not give you more than you can handle.” However, nothing could be further from the truth. God gives us more than we can handle all the time. Ask anyone who has experienced an excruciating loss. Ask anyone going through unfathomable pain–physical or mental. God gives more than we can handle. My husband, Bruce, had a stroke on June 1, 2019. I found him lying on our bedroom floor, a few breaths away from death. Even though he had been so close to death,…
