“That’s not fair!” Growing up with a younger sister sometimes meant that I said “that’s not fair” a good bit. There were times when she got to do things much earlier than I had gotten to do them, or she got her way when I really wanted mine.
Cancer Is Not Evil
January 18, 2023 by
The most significant source of strength I draw from as I deal with cancer is not some coping mechanism that comes naturally to me. I don’t have three keys for stress-free living to offer my readers. Instead, the most important, most helpful sources of inspiration and strength for me have been my beliefs about God.
My Undelivered Stand-up Routine for Those Not Likely to Come Back to Church
November 8, 2022 by
How is everybody doing tonight? You look great. You’re less sober than the people I usually talk to.
Not Another Word
April 7, 2021 by
Suffering in secret, it’s not what Jesus did—not that he had a choice in the matter, but it’s what his followers do religiously. Many of us believe talking about pain and subsequent grief somehow takes away from God’s glory.
Connections 01.31.2021: Not Taking Evil for Granted
January 24, 2021 by
Jesus’ miracles had a purpose: they announced that God’s reign in the world had arrived in Jesus. So when Jesus cast evil spirits out of people, it was an announcement that God’s power to defeat evil was with Jesus.
Formations 03.24.2019: Lead Us Not Into Temptation
March 17, 2019 by
I didn’t know there was a TV show called Temptation Island until I started researching for this article. The premise of the show is to put four unmarried couples who are “at a crossroads in their relationship” in an island paradise.
Spiritual but Not Religious
August 29, 2018 by
Many would say, to use a modern phrase, that Lincoln was “spiritual but not religious.” Such a posture should be celebrated as an expression of heartfelt belief and longing, but it should also be considered with a word of caution.
Jesus Would Not Have Denied Me Communion
February 15, 2018 by
My husband Paul and I have been married for more than 47 years! We are as alike as jelly and jam and as different as whole wheat and rye. He grew up in the northern United States; I grew up in the South. He’s Catholic and I’m Baptist; for the most part that distinction has never been an issue.
Prayer is Not Seasonal
December 6, 2017 by
Commercials tell us that it is time for families to gather around the Christmas tree and the television. Jingle the bells. Add snow to the background. Cue smiling families, dressed alternately in red and green, making snowmen and snowballs. “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.”
Crossroads: Do Not Fear
September 11, 2016 by
It has been fifteen years since September 11, 2001. For many of us, that was the day that the world changed. It seems like we lost something that day: a feeling of safety and that everything would be fine.
Lost But Not Alone
March 1, 2016 by
My three-year-old is starting to understand and verbalize more about God than he ever has before, and it’s encouraging and overwhelming all at once. The other night after prayers were said and stories were told, there was a period of silence.