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Racism: Blind to Privilege
I had never considered myself a racist. When I was kid, my parents helped me send the coins in my piggy bank to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s work. And I have family members who are African-Americans and Latinos. So I thought I was good. I got my first hard look at my blindness when I took Greek from an African-American professor. He told us that racism was not a white problem; it was a sin problem. He gave international examples of darker and lighter groups hating each other. Afterward, I said I wanted to be color-blind, and he stopped me. “You need to see the color,” he said. “God…
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10 for 10 – Marriage Learnings
Today my husband, Craig, and I will celebrate our 10 year anniversary! We have learned much, are still learning and will learn new things. Below are 10 things that I have learned in the 10 years I’ve been married to my best friend. 1. Seek your identity in Christ first. Your identity is not rooted in your marriage nor who you are married to. Yes, your marriage is a significant part of your identity as is your spouse, but that is not where you identity is (or should be) rooted. If your identity is based in Christ (and is continually deepened) your defenses will fall, confidence and compassion will increase…
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Restore to Me
“Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. Do not banish me from your presence, and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you.” Psalm 51:10–12 (NLT). Italics mine I wish I could say it’s easy for me to go to God whenever I mess up. It’s not. Instead I want to do something—anything so I can feel good about myself before approaching God. This should satisfy God. That should make it all better. He’s not mad at me anymore. Throughout the Psalms, we see the intimate relationship…
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Cleaning Out
Our latest house project has caused us to do a lot of cleaning, which began with the simple need to empty some drawers and cabinets for painting. Then, we had to deal with dust and debris throughout the house from tearing out a tub and shower tile. Cleaning one area led to organizing it, which affected a related area that needed cleaning and/or organizing. Frankly, it’s overwhelming because the whole process of doing what seemed like a small renovation led to cleaning out areas long neglected. Instead of getting cleaner, the house was getting worse as day by day we took more stuff out of hiding. But by the…
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Cleaning up, again!
It’s that time again. Monday, trash day. This week it fell my job to roll our large trash bin to the curb anticipating an early morning visit from the rumbling truck with it’s robotic arms ready to clasp my trash to it’s bosom. I had just been reading about spiritual disciplines and the ancient practice called “Examen of Conscience.” As I journeyed out the driveway rolling my trash bin I was struck with some amazing parallels. Every week, without fail, we clear out the wastebaskets, kitchen garbage, and other unnecessary things around the house dumping them with abandon, ready for our faithful garbage collectors. But I wonder, am I as…
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Confessions of a Church Critic
“For by the grace given to me I say to every one of you not to think more highly of yourself than you ought to think, but to think with sober discernment, as God has distributed to each of you a measure of faith” (Romans 12:3). When I first considered writing Christian articles/columns or a blog online the following thought came to mind: “Wouldn’t it be neat to visit different churches and then write a column rating that church? I could tell others what was cool about the church, where they were on the straight path, where they were straying, where tradition was overriding biblical teaching, where they had adopted…