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Just Jesus…
When I was younger I thought a revival was a 3-night event where all the church folk would come together and sing longer than normal. I later came to understand revival as awakening the church ultimately to win others to Christ. My husband and I are inner-city missionaries so I have been thinking about, praying about, and meeting about revival for a while now. But if I can be honest for a bit—I am tired. Although we have been at this for three years now, at times it seems the lingo of “revival” is still as nebulous and undefined as it was when I was a little girl. It almost…
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Disney Pixar’s Soul: A Spiritual Review
Disney Pixar’s latest feature film, Soul, follows the unassuming life of Joe Gardner. ( Caution, if you haven’t already seen the movie this blog includes spoilers.) He is a middle school music teacher with dreams of making it big. The character’s angst to accomplish his life’s dream drew me in as I sat and thought of my own unfinished goals. Joe’s desperation to become a successful Jazz performer highlights humanity’s struggle with meaning and purpose. While the movie Soul may not be a biblical guide to life, it echoes biblical principles without even knowing it. Joe Gardner’s search for purpose and fulfillment is reminiscent of the book of Ecclesiastes. After…
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Running to my Husband
I have a fantastic husband. Not just Instagram fantastic, but like for real fantastic. Today, he put together two utility shelves for our mudroom and took the kids out of the house so I could get work done! Yet no matter how “real life” fantastic he is, all spouses fall short. Even my husband. We have the tendency to find the worst time, to say the gravest things, that send us over the edge. I can’t even pinpoint what our fight was about that fateful day but I do remember the sinking feeling in my stomach as tears welling up in my eyes. I retreated to my room to lick…
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Should Christians Burn Sage?
Smudging, the burning of bundled sage, is an indigenous practice that has been around for centuries. Various people groups throughout history have used this for medicinal and ceremonial purposes. The indigenous beauty blogger, Bianca Millar, says she and her husband burn sage along with other herbs to “thank the Creator for the new day and send up our prayers.” Burning sage is also used by herbalists or alternative healers. Claretha Yeager, an Acupuncturist and reiki master based in Chicago says she frequently uses smudging—or burning sage—to help rid her patients of negative emotions. She claims that sage smoke unburdens people of their negative energy to feel better. Burning sage has …
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Toasters, Faith and Remembering
This post was originally posted in June of 2019 as Thanksgiving nears in 2020 I thought it may do us all well to reflect and remember. It has been quite the year since this post first circulated. Yet even with all of the upheaval and strangeness that 2020 has brought our way-when we pause to remember we see that God is still good! A toaster was all it took to throw me into a crisis of faith yesterday. I love toast as much as the next person, but it wasn’t the actual toaster that triggered my downward spiral, but what the toaster represented. About a year ago, my family took…
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Breonna Taylor-The Tip of the Iceberg
Breonna Taylor- her name keeps playing over and over in my head. Yes, there have been many names to say throughout the last couple of years. But something about this name, a young black woman much like myself, only a stone’s throw away from my hometown, hits differently. Shot and killed by a police officer in her home, #JusticeforBreonna has made international news. Even though one officer involved in the shooting has been indicted, the ripple effect of a collective groan of exhaustion continues. I am not here to argue the facts and figures of this case, I am simply here to lament, as a sister in Christ and I…
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Does God Prefer Elephants or Donkeys?
I remember a pastor making jokes from the pulpit about Christians who were democrats. According to him being a republican was akin to being a Christian. I laughed nervously as the congregation nodded in agreement. But this just didn’t sit right with me. How could man, being finite and flawed suppose that the will of God was fully represented by either side of the political spectrum? The idea that we can fit the God of the universe into our political system is counter to the very nature of God. Isaiah 55:8-9 summarizes the transcendence of God, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares…
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Spiritual Warfare: The Right Tool for the Job
In seminary, I had a Greek professor that drilled a mantra into our heads. Every day he reminded us,“You must have the right tools for the job.” There was even a song and a video to further bring this point home. What he meant was, when parsing Greek verbs and drawing countless diagrams you must have the right study tools to get the job done. Not employing the right tool for such a job would leave you frustrated having wasted way too much time and energy. This mantra can be applied in almost any circumstance but I want to focus our attention on the necessary tools for the job of…
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Hazed and Confused
Last night, a girl referred to her current state of mind as hazy. “Hazy,” I thought, I can relate to that. Familiar realities seem to be obscured by the “new normal.” Oddly enough, right when the fog begins to lift another comes. Someone else gets shot, cities are burning down, and people are spewing hatred. My joy has waned and confusion has set in as I watch the fissures within the body of Christ become craters. I have looked on as people who I consider friends and ministry partners dig their heels in despite my grief. People are weary in well-doing, tired of praying, and not seeking the Lord before…
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What to do when you’re tired of online church
It’s Sunday morning, I’m washing the dishes and my mind is racing. There are literally thousands of church services to stream. I can sample a sermon from here, and listen in on worship from there all at the touch of a button. I should be thriving in an atmosphere flushed with Biblical teaching but my experience has been quite the opposite. I know that life-changing content is out there but the problem is, I don’t really want to see any of it. In fact, I think I may burst if I have to look at another live stream or hold yet another prayer meeting over zoom. I am just over…
