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Trusting God on the Other Side of Bizarre
In my last blog post, “Trusting God in the Bizarre,” I shared how a diagnosis of tongue cancer had blown up my world and how I was wrestling with my fear—again—of pain and suffering. It has now been 11 weeks since a surgeon removed a third of my tongue. I am still healing, both my tongue and my neck, from which he removed 20 lymph nodes—which were cancer free. I still thank the Lord for that graciousness. My speech is no longer impaired although it is affected. I sound like I have a cough drop in my mouth when I talk, and the “s” sound is still a challenge. Let…
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Bible Backgrounds: Read Some NT Books with the Artemis Cult in View
Ever seen drawings of the ancient goddess Artemis? If so, she was probably carrying a bow and arrow. More recent iterations of her as Wonder Woman still depict her the same way—with shields, bows, and arrows. Ancient literature includes many references to Artemis as a master of archery. We see a similar connection in the epigraphic (inscription) evidence. In what is known as “the Oracle Inscription” found in the ruins of Ephesus, the goddess is described as “Artemis of the golden quiver,” a “shooter of arrows” and a “straight-shooting one.” In the ancient Ephesians’ manifestation of her, as with the more generic Artemis, the arrow was her primary weapon. What…
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The Commencement Address I Actually Got to Give
In 2014, I wrote a blog post The Commencement Address I’ll Never Get to Give. Then I was deeply honored to be asked to address the eight graduating seniors of the Richardson Home School Association, where my husband and I have been teaching. He’s the high school science teacher and I am his admin, I teach cursive handwriting to younger kids, and together we teach “Building Confident Christians,” a faith-building year of worldview and apologetics. I had already written my address as a blog post, but I tweaked it some, coming in at a very-short-for-me nine minutes (because ain’t nobody goes to graduation for the commencement address, right?): We’ve taught…
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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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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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Light and Momentary Troubles
Job loss. Global pandemic. COVID-19 killing thousands. Racial injustices. Knees on necks. Anxiety. Depression. Social distancing loneliness. Sexual harassment. School bullying. It’s just one thing after another. Maybe you wonder if God is even paying attention. We all face discouragement. We try our best, only to be humiliated in front of our coworkers by a toxic boss who leaves us feeling unappreciated and discarded. We toil to make our marriages work, only to feel frustrated because nothing is changing. We give and serve at church, only to have our jaws hit the floor when we learn of members’ gossip and betrayal. It’s a good thing that what God says…
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The Devil Made Me Do It
In 1985, Richard Ramirez, a Satanist, killed fourteen Californians. Ramirez claimed evil spirits made him mutilate the elderly, women, and children. His savagery even terrified his trial judge. What do we make of this monstrosity? Or of racially motivated violence, where even Christians misappropriate Scripture to deny the basic human dignity of those they deem inferior to them? The testimonies of Christ and the apostles give evidence that demons work by seducing us with pride, greed, and lust. But can we hold demonized humans responsible for the sins committed under demonic influence? Who bears ultimate responsibility for 9/11 or the Nazi genocide of Jews? Satan, or those who commited the…
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Spirit of the Rainforest: A Forty-Something Book Report
“We want people who will really care about us, like the man who came into my village and put his arm around me when I was covered with dirt, sweat, saliva, and mucous…He showed us something we knew nothing about—love.”–quoted from Spirit of the Rainforest Eight years ago my husband announced he would quit his corporate job to go to seminary full-time. I reminded him of his disdain for reading and writing. Not that I wanted to dissuade him, but I didn’t believe him for the aforementioned reasons. Years later I joined him and I took a fascinating class on Angelology. I expected the extensive…
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6/26/2015: Supreme Mistake
As we approach the second anniversary of a date which will live in infamy, the Supreme Court’s ruling on homosexual “marriage” in Obergefell v. Hodges, I thought it important to remind Christians, so as to keep them awake and vigilant in our culture war. The Roe v. Wade anniversary is often marked by a March for Life. Let us also mark this day as, at the very least, a day of prayer for our wayward nation which has, thus far, bound itself to self-destruction. I do not advocate violence, but vigilance. And even as we warn the unbelieving culture to “repent and turn back so that your sins may be…
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What’s in Your Closet?
My husband lost over 100 pounds a few years ago. Throughout the months of his weight loss we began to notice that his clothes weren't the right fit anymore. They were made for the body he used to have, not the one he was beginning to have. And eventually NOTHING fit—not even the underclothes. Since we weren’t able to fully replace the wardrobe, he kept wearing many of the things he always had and sometimes looked like a child wearing hand-me-downs, several sizes too big. The Scriptures remind us that we as believers are also changing. As we mature in our faith, the ways we used to act or talk or…
