In 2021, a group kayaking off the coast of Scotland noticed a lone sheep at the bottom of a steep slope on an isolated, rocky beach. The creature followed them along the shoreline, plaintively bleating as they glided past.
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Evaluating the causes of our anger and how we respond to it is not easy. The week I wrote this, I got mad at someone who almost side-swiped my car while they were texting. In a world chock full of moments like this and much, much worse, how can anger help lead us to Christian growth and maturity?
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As Christians, are we subconsciously viewing our lives through the same lens as those who do not believe in God? Are we forgetting that our faith in Christ makes a difference in how we experience life events and how we interpret and share the stories of our lives?
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A unique series of events brought me to a small stone house in the middle of a desert one hot summer day. The old cottage was tired but intriguing with its sagging, dusty floors, shabby furnishings, and curtains that crumbled when touched. With the air of a good poker player holding cards close to the chest, the structure made me wish the walls could talk.
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One chilly fall day in 2004, I stood looking out my living room window, but my mind wasn't on the neighborhood kids playing or the changing leaves. Instead, it was hundreds of miles away, focused on my grandfather, who had called to tell me about his initial home visit with a hospice intake nurse…
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Sometimes, I miss the daily life I shared with my kids when they were young, with its abundant opportunities to participate daily in their flourishing and be a buffer against the world's harsher realities. Now, every goodbye reminds me of my new role and what it means for my faith.
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I often plan not out of wisdom and prudence but to reduce anxiety about the future. But no amount of good planning prepares me for "rogue waves," unanticipated and unwanted events that hit me out of nowhere.
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Remaining strong to the end as a Christian and standing firm in the faith despite the inevitable funguses, infections, attacks, and storms in life is not something we can do alone.
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There’s more to the act of celebrating than meets the eye. I learned this lesson through a hard experience when I was thirteen.
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The only reasons we need to make prayer a top priority each day are because God said to pray, and Jesus modeled it. But, as I examine my prayer life, I find other vital reasons for praying. Here are a few.
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As humans, we can be so impacted by fear that we hide or shrink back when new opportunities arise. Fear can be one of the most significant barriers to accomplishing anything: we worry about failing, disappointing others, being laughed at, or even mocked.
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Sheep can become cast on their backs in several ways, and so can we. In the spiritual realm, casting is a state of being discouraged in one’s soul.
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Even after becoming a Christian, I remained a diehard subscriber to the world's notion that romantic love was the ultimate treasure in the quest for earthly joy and wholeness.
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An encouraging reminder for those times when it feels like we are spiritually stagnating: God is always at work, even when we can’t see it.
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We long for quiet time - yet when silence comes, we are tempted to fill it with more noise. What might we experience if we embrace the occasional silent night?
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What if, instead of being thankful only for earthly blessings and relationships, we dove into the deepest well of gratitude?
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When I chose to stop attending church at age 19, I had no idea what I was giving up. One of those things was the spiritual growth that only comes through worshipping, praying, learning, and gathering with other Christians.
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We don’t develop separation anxiety - we are born with it. But the unease and stress that comes when we lose earthly loves – not just people, but beloved pets and even treasured comfort objects – illuminates our most significant need and longing.
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Like waves of water and light, our words and actions have consequences. They ripple forward, but thankfully, also backward - all the way to the cross.
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Though I have spent tremendous energy banking on earthly things to anchor me, I have been known to casually release, or hold loosely, my trust in God.
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