When it comes to spiritual conversations, what do you fear? Many Christians today fear giving offense or being rejected and that becomes a barrier to talking about our faith or talking about God’s perspective on what’s going on in the world today. The second barrier is the variety of meanings people now attach to words […]
Are you talking about me behind me back? Well, if not, why not? That’s right, I want you to gossUP. GossUP, you ask? Yes, gossUP. Think of it as an antonym for gossip – the very opposite of tattle tales or nay-saying, GossUP is talking positively about other people behind their backs. Telling stories of […]
Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? Remember when Mary presumed the man she saw on the first Easter morning was the gardener? Think about that. The risen Christ looked like a gardener to one of the people who knew him best in all the world. As we till the soil of life, […]
What’s your why? That’s the question a ministry consultant recently asked me. We were talking about what I do every day and he asked, “What’s your why? Everyone has a why – the real motivation behind why you do what you every day. So, what’s your why?” It’s a great question. Once you know your […]
People often ask me how I do what I do. What they mean by that is how do I find a way to get God into just about every conversation. First let me say, don’t make it harder than it is. Take what culture gives you, think about what you’re thinking about and how you’re […]
I guess I was about 14 when my dad told me he thought it was time for me to become reasonable and responsible. He described those two qualities this way: when you were a child you thought like a child, you reasoned like a child, but now you’re becoming a young woman and I expect […]
Years ago I was teaching alongside Connie in a VBS class of kids who were just learning to color and draw. The lesson had been on a verse in James 4 about sowing peace. As we passed around the crayons with the encouraging “you get what you get and you don’t get upset” line, everyone […]
People pay to do some strange things. Have you heard about womb therapy? People pay to be tied up in the fetal position, wrapped in a fabric womb, in which they then go through periods of struggle and rest. They are encouraged to cry like babies and eventually break free in an experience of rebirth. […]
Where in the Word are you today? Now hear me – I didn’t ask where in the WORLD are you today, I asked where in the WORD are you today? And if you haven’t been in the Word of God how do you expect to be used of God in the world? It is only […]
Three stone masons were working together at a construction site. When asked what they were doing, the first replied: “I’m cutting and shaping stones.” The second said, “I’m stacking stones for a wall.” But the third replied with visionary enthusiasm, “I am building a cathedral!” Cathedrals took a generation to construct. And lives were […]