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End Game
My husband and I are huge fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). We love the intergalactic battles raging across time and space, and the artfully crafted storylines that pull you in. One Marvel film, in particular, had us on the edge of our seats cheering on the culmination of decades of strife-The End Game. In this film, good and evil drew a line in the sand, as all of creation hinged on the precipice of eternal change. It’s no wonder audiences all over the world stood to their feet as the final scene played out in all of its glory. Even if you are over the superhero genre, there…
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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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One White Woman’s Thoughts on Immigration
Admittedly, I never used to think much about immigration. Middle-class, Caucasian, Midwest U.S. American, immigration did not have an impact on my daily life. My high school graduating class was 99% Caucasian. The other 1% was African American. Everyone I knew looked like me, talked like me, and was (more or less) of the same economic status as me. The sum of my “immigration experience” was that my great-grandparents had emigrated from the Netherlands to the United States in the early 1900s, back when Lady Liberty still had open arms. When I became an architect and moved from Illinois to Texas, my immigration experience expanded only slightly. I understood that…
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“Hear, you deaf; look, you blind, and see!” An Autobiography
Journal excerpt 2012: “Do I look like a Christian? If I’m a follower of Christ, then why is my life so compromised? Why is there so much sin, so much fear, so little faith? Dare I stand up and identify myself with Christ? Will I not shame Him and shame myself?” I was beginning to doubt my own salvation. Everywhere I turned I saw flashing lights and warning signals. “Put yourselves to the test to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize regarding yourselves that Jesus Christ is in you – unless, indeed, you fail the test!” (2 Corinthians 13:5). I’m not…
