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Different but the Same
Most nights I go to bed anxious. Anxious about the turmoil across our country and our world. Anxious about the place where my little boys will grow up and the challenges they will face. The past few months have shocked us with pain, turmoil, and anger. They have marked us and made us. Life will look different, even after we return to our normal routines. As I worry about the unknowns ahead, I’m reminded that Solomon told us, “There is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). Our problems are unique, but they are not new. Just take a look at the Bible’s history. Anger turned to murder within the…
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Processing Pain
If you don't like where you are, keep walking." Pain happens. We don't get to choose the when the where or the how. But we can choose to process it in a healthy The devastation a child feels, from having the wrong answer when asked a question in front of their class, clarifies the importance of a right answer. From childhood we push forward in a pursuit of knowledge as though finding the right answers guarantees success.
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Sheroes of the Bible
The last two months unfolded like an archeological dig. Week after week, I joined a group of women to unlock stories of the past, dust off musty translations, and peer into golden lives of unlikely sheroes. Who are these sheroes? Women easily overlooked, discounted, and even scorned.
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Robbed of My Right of Passage
In this Covid-19 time, there’s a group of celebrants who feels the loss of their special day more than others: Graduates. With no stage, no diploma in hand, and no procession, it’s hard to feel the same sense of accomplishment and closure.
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“Embracing God When You Want To Run”
Spring is a time for new flowers, budding trees, green grass, sunshine, insects, and yes, snakes. Snakes out already? You bet…as temperatures start to climb those dreadful reptiles come out of hibernation and begin to enjoy the greater outdoors. I realize that some snakes are considered good, but for me, I have never been one to stick around when I see one. Instead, I become the fastest sprint runner on the track, leaving everyone behind. A few weeks ago, I was walking in our pasture with our grandsons enjoying the warm sunny Kansas day. As we walked, our conversation centered around God’s creation marveling at the beauty He has given us. As we walked, we…
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The Week After Easter
The Easter message––that Jesus came to set us free and give us new life––does not change. Even in the confines of a pandemic. No one could have foreseen the magnitude of coronavirus strife. Except Jesus. Jesus knew that days like these were coming.
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Good Friday- Following Jesus into the Light
At the small, country church of my childhood, 3 crosses would be placed by the roadside shortly before the week of Easter. The crosses would be bare or draped in purple for a time and then early in the morning on Good Friday a black cloth would be placed around the middle cross. Black, to symbolize the light of Jesus being extinguished and the heaviness of the world’s sin. It’s not just a figurative darkness, it was a reality for those in the presence of Jesus at the time of his death, for as Luke records: “It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three,…
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4 Truths to Overcome Fear
We can learn a lot of things from our experience with the novel coronavirus and how it has affected our lives. We can learn the value of considering others as more important than ourselves as we choose to let self-sacrifice win over self-centeredness. We can learn how to be creative during our “shelter in place” time. We are learning how to love our neighbors from six feet away whenever we are able to do so. We’ve repeatedly scrubbed our hands, sprayed doorknobs and light switches with Lysol, worn gloves to go to the grocery store and wiped down every item brought into our house, and disinfected even our mail. And,…
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Seeking Happiness — Finding Joy
Picture in your mind one of the most enjoyable walks you have ever taken. What made it so enjoyable? Was it the location? Was it the weather or the time of day? Or, was it the one who was walking beside you? Throughout the Bible, our lives are referred to as a “walk” although some days you may feel like yours is a sprint. Am I right? Though you may feel like you are sprinting, your whole life experience is considered a walk. And, those who place their faith in Christ are living a “faith walk.” But, here’s the catch: a lifetime faith walk must be walked daily. Choices are made…
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When is Good Enough… Good Enough?
Imagine that the Christian life is like learning to walk on a balance beam. The Gospel helps us to mount and stand on His promises. Staying in balance is only possible because of Jesus. Colossians 1:27 Fall to the right and be immersed in a sinful endeavor to be good, to keep all the law of Moses. Striving for perfection and trusting in the ability to get it right. It is legalism, faking it until you feel you are making it. Working harder, self-righteousness, arrogance, pride, and delusions of glory. Here, ideas of being good guide us and our self-righteousness rules us. Fall to the left, and struggle with blatant…
