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My Sin is Not Sexy
I have come to the fundamental understanding that I am LAZY! I even googled it! I WikiHow’d the title “How to stop being a slob.” While we all joke about being lazy now and then it goes far beyond that. After much denial I am ashamed to say I struggle with the sin of slothfulness or laziness. We're past procrastination. I dream about accomplishing things that I never start. I miss deadlines. I am often late. I have a problem. Waking up is the beginning of my troubles; I am the type of person that sets the alarm 30 minutes early so I can hit the snooze button a dozen…
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The Art of Remembrance
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, we as a family took a leap of faith and quit our jobs to move across the country with very little knowledge of what we would do for the Kingdom of God. In the process, we gave away all of our stuff… yep even our toaster. There is something freeing about unencumbering oneself of earthly possessions, that is until you need said earthly possessions. Fast forward…
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Ezekiel 3:16-19- Are you a Modern Day Watchman?
I am convinced that we have lost the urgency of spreading the good news of Jesus Christ. I recall a life-transforming moment at the Texas State Fair that proves my own lack of urgency concerning the gospel. A slick-talking salesman took me through their rehearsed speech as they tried to sell me a "balance band." Through some mix of magic, science, and marketing it was supposed to make me more sure-footed. I was skeptical at best but then they demonstrated the product on me and wouldn't ya know it actually worked! They had made a believer out of me! I purchased several units for my multiple balance needs! I then…
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Easter Day Massacre–When prayers go unanswered
On this particular Easter morning, I woke up with a sinking feeling in my stomach. As I prepared to drive our nice minivan, to our nice church in our nice clothes I couldn't help but think about the global plight of our brothers and sisters in Christ. I prayed that morning—a prayer that God didn't seem to answer. An unholy foreshadowing of the events to follow crossed my mind and I whispered a faint prayer against attacks. I grabbed for my bright green scarf and threw on my yellow earrings for a pop of color and asked God to save his people from death and persecution on Easter Sunday. After…
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Has the Church Forgotten Its Task?
I have become increasingly uncomfortable with the amount of time we as believers put in to “doing” church. There is a never-ending deluge of conferences, retreats, board meetings, choir practices, devotionals, books, and sermons to choose from; however, the average Christian has never shared their faith with an unbeliever. While these activities are not bad, it seems to me we have spent so much time doing Christian things that we may have forgotten the very task that God has entrusted to us. God did not leave us without purposefully outlining a task that is attainable and measurable. We refer to this task as the Great Commission. Matthew 28:18-20 …
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Toddler Tantrums and Our Sin Nature
I have heard the adage time and time again:"You don't have to teach a baby to sin." As a mom of three small children, I quickly learned that this couldn't be truer! The cherub-faced cuteness began to wear off when my daughter started acting on her inclination to hit. Hitting was her preferred method of expression. This heavy-handed little girl wielded her back-hand with the power to smite anyone who stood in opposition to her! So I had to roll up my sleeves and dive into the dirty work of behavioral modification with a two a year old. A major source of irritation in her world, like most toddlers,…
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Running Towards Giants
All my life I have heard the story of David and Goliath preached with an emphasis on personal application. "Defeating Your Giants" or "Five Stones of Faith That Lead to Victory" -These typical homilies are focused on encouraging believers to slay impossible giants in their own lives. However, I believe it is time to take a fresh look at this age-old passage. I had the privilege to hear Bob Sjogren, president of UnveilinGLORY ministries, speak and he suggested something quite strange. While Goliath is usually presented as a stumbling block best avoided, Bob suggests that we run towards our giants in the name of God’s glory. Personal giants are…
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Jesus and Bath Time
"Babe, have you been saturating our efforts in prayer?" my husband inquired. Of course, I wanted to say yes-1 Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to pray without ceasing but If we are all honest with ourselves we could be doing much better with our prayer lives. “Saturate,” I thought, “that's a strange way to describe prayer.” But as I continued to mull over my husband’s question I realized that prayer and the concept of saturation were interrelated. As a busy mom of three, I am no stranger to saturation. A good soaker tub, sprinkles of Himalayan Pink Salt, and bubble bath have become my best friends. My husband is aware that …
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Can a Wife Ever be a Spiritual Covering?
Pastor John Gray was recently interviewed on Sister Circle Live concerning hardships in his marriage and how his wife was the one to see him through. His comments have since gone viral and have garnered the following questions: Is the man always a spiritual covering for his wife? What happens when he is not? Can a woman biblically act as a covering for her husband? People have called into question his sense of biblical manhood, the role of a husband and the church’s view of the archetypical “Strong Women-” the good wife, that patiently endures the hardships of her husband while from a posture of prayer. Grey is quoted as…
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Is there anything too hard for God?
On Saturday I experienced quite possibly the most diverse moment of worship within the body of Christ that I have ever imagined. I can only describe this collective experience as a glimpse into what heavenly worship will look like. In an era where socio-political, racial, ethnic and national unrest seems to rule the day, there has never been a time when the church so desperately needs to move closer. The church must be an earthly representation of this heavenly reality—where every tribe and every nation stand in concert with each other before our God. (Revelation 7:9-10) Within the walls of enculturated bias, where you cringe to hear the measure…
