-
Racing to the Front of the Line
Two small figures race to the kitchen sink. “Me first,” one of them yells. It’s a contest to see who can wash their hands and make it to the table first. A few hours later the same competition ensues. Dressed in their pajamas, the go racing down the hallway, grabbing their orange and blue toothbrushes and vying for first place on the bathroom stool. I want my sons to embrace competition in all the proper places. I also want them to learn to lead from the back of the line—by serving others and letting them go first. But the lessons are hard won. If I’m honest I get frustrated by…
-
Leader, Do You Have a Book in You?
Back when I was in high school living two miles outside of Washington, D.C., my parents took me to visit The Library of Congress. As I stood eyeing walls of books, millions of them from floor to ceiling, it occurred to me that a whole lot of people publish. And that number has continued to skyrocket. Today the Library of Congress contains more than 74 million manuscripts—about one for every five Americans. So why in the world would you want to add to that stack by writing a book of your own? Write because you have better data. Maybe you’ve taken a look at all the books on the market…
-
An Ordinary Woman’s Response to Global Crisis
Horror. Sadness. Anxiety. Anger. Guilt. With these emotions, I watched religious fanatics take over the ravaged land of Afghanistan leaving women, girls, Christians, and the marginalized desperately scrambling for their lives. This crisis is just the most recent example of pain, injustice, and all that is wrong in our world. The latest that eclipses many others: an earthquake in the already devastated nation of Haiti; Chinese Christians in re-education camps; Indonesian citizens dying outside hospitals for lack of beds, oxygen, and vaccines; flames destroying entire towns in California; Lebanon in economic, social, and political downfall. And all this exacerbated by a continuing global pandemic. What does an ordinary western woman…
-
The Secret to Beautiful Feet
These days, we have access to more foot products than ever before. But feet aren’t judged on the way they look. Feet are judged on the message they carry. So what’s the secret to beautiful feet? Beautiful feet bring...
-
Teaching Children about Intercession
Like children, we love getting caught up in a mystery book with its twists and turns. We meet villains and saviors and we see how the plot thickens. God is the master of mysteries and we can use His stories to teach practical lessons for real life. Take the story of the villain King Zedekiah in Jeremiah 38 who allowed other villains to unjustly imprison Jeremiah in of all places, a cistern! Who will save him? Who will be the man of the hour? Enter Ebed-Melech, not an Israelite, but an Ethiopian. Ebed-Melech had the heart to serve no matter the cost. He was willing to step in and confront…
-
Living with a Sense of Urgency
I asked my dear friend Caren Austen to write about the life-upending diagnosis that, in a single moment of time, changed absolutely everything about her life. “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12 Cerebral atrophy. That was the diagnosis resulting from a recent MRI. Deterioration of the brain. After judiciously researching the diagnosis, a consultation with a friend in the medical field confirmed the most likely cause that my brain is shrinking: Alzheimer’s. A singular moment with horrific implications. At 66, I was stung as the future I had anticipated seemed to be snatched away. The time I likely would not…
-
Seven Church Conditions during the Church Age – Prologue
It is the worst of times, it is the best of times!
-
“Why do you trouble the Teacher any further?”
“Your daughter is dead. Why do you trouble the Teacher any further? (Mark 6:35).” I came upon this verse recently and those words stood out to me. “Why do you trouble the Teacher any further?” The “teacher,” of course, is Jesus. Why do I continue to bother Jesus with my requests? This is a fair question. Why do I do that? Why do you do that? More importantly, DO we do that? This verse is just a tiny bit of a story found in the book of Mark. Jesus is at the height of his ministry and his reputation is known far and wide as a miraculous healer. At this…
-
Strength While Weak: Facing a Loved Ones Alzheimer’s
Today I have a guest blogger, Canadian Nancy Rempel. Nancy has served for decades as a cross-cultural worker in the Middle East and elsewhere. She enjoys the beautiful Canadian countryside and writing accounts of the ways God has worked in her life. Nancy is husband to Don and mother and mother-in-law to two adult sons and one daughter-in-law. In the dead of night, I could hear the commotion through my earplugs. Voices. Banging. Shuffling around. The light from my parents’ room glared under my bedroom door. Roused from my sleep, I slipped out into the hallway, unprepared for the drama. It was 2003, and I was 47 years old. I…
-
Women: Time for an Update
Women in Church History Last week a friend told me that in one of her seminary summer school classes a fellow student insisted the existence of Christian women in public ministry started with radical feminism. And the professor did not seem to realize what the student said was untrue. I hear such statements often. Here’s one from a Christian blogger: “It was the feminist teachings of the past few decades that first spurred Christians to try to argue for [women in public ministry]. Like it or not, the two schools of thought are intertwined.” Maybe we get the idea that radical feminism started it all because we don’t realize how…