life. faithful.

I like a good debate. A good debate gets people thinking. It makes them dig deep and really focus on what they think about a topic and why they think that way. It gets you to truly listen to someone who is one a different side of the issue and lets you hear their point of view. To have a good debate, you have to understand your opponent. You have to be able to see where they are coming from so that you can present logical, well thought out arguments in the hopes of getting the other person to start seeing your side of the issue just a little bit more. A good debate challenges those involved, both the people actually debating and those who are simply observing the debate. The problem is, right now we aren't seeing good debates. Instead, our world is full of people whose idea of debate is pointing fingers, slinging insults, and pouring hatred into already tense situations. People get on facebook to "debate" an issue with people they know nothing about, yet it seems lik...

What you're about to read wasn't written for this blog. It is a prayer, my private attempt to work through my confusion and fears and questions. In the interest of being transparent on this blog, it's presented here just the same way that it's written in my notebook. I'm putting this here because--just maybe--somebody out there is struggling with the same things. And maybe, when you see my struggles laid out--my heart laid bare before God and now you--you'll at least see that you're not alone. "When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die." ~Dietrich Bonhoeffer God, You know my heart. You know my longings and desires better than I do, because You're the One who made me. I dream of doing what I consider "big things" for You, things that I think will matter. I think it's my pride, this crazy thought that somehow I'm supposed to do more , that You've made me to do something more than just exist in this life...

I was over at Bonnie Gray's blog today, checking out the collection of posts that have been linked there. She mentioned risk, and it reminded me of a verse I read earlier this week. By the way, if you're like me and you have a daily planner lying around that you don't use because you're incredibly disorganized...or something like that, because of course you're not disorganized, right? I've found a great use for one. I got a beautiful planner from Fair Trade Friday in one of my monthly packages, and I'm using it as a place to write daily verses. I'm not 100% on top of things so I've got a few blank days, but for the most part I have to tell you--it's a wonderful use of a beautiful product. Picture from https://www.facebook.com/fairtradefriday/ So, now that that little side trip is done, back to what I was talking about. Here are the verses I wrote in my planner-turned-scripture journal yesterday: "If any of you want to walk M...

We live in a world that is constantly pointing out all of our failures, telling us, like Ghandi said, "I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike your Christ." When we're being reminded of how we fall short, how we don't measure up, it's easy to start feeling ashamed and guilty. It's easy to look in the mirror and see all your flaws, just like it's easy to look at how the world sees you and start seeing only the negative. Look closer, though, and you'll see something amazing. You'll see someone who is imperfect, yes, someone who fails God on a daily basis. But more importantly than that, you'll see someone whose every flaw--every sin--has been covered by grace. You'll see someone who can stand before God not in their own right, but in the redemptive light of the Son of God. You'll see someone who fails God on a daily, but you'll also see someone who tries on a daily basis. You'll see someone ...

As much as I wish it weren't true, America is traveling down a dangerous road. We, as a nation, have turned away from the values upon which our Republic was founded. We have turned away from everything that made us strong in favor of "political correctness" that silences the truth to keep from hurting anyone's feelings. We fight for the so-called rights of animals, fight to save every obscure butterfly or frog or bird, yet say that it's okay for a woman to snuff out the life growing in her womb to make things more convenient. We fight over who hates who more, over who is the most oppressed and the most oppressive, over who is the most mistreated and who is the most cruel. We cry about being offended, claiming to need a safe space where nobody will hurt our feelings. We give out trophies for participation, trying to ensure that no one is seen as better than anyone else, and then wonder why no one tries to better themselves. We've accepted lies in pla...

"For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the cosmos: to demonstrate the power of truth. Everyone who seeks truth hears My voice." ~John 18:37 For this I have been born... Waiting. It seems like so much of life is just waiting. I don't know about you, but I don't like waiting. I've spent a lot of time--years, even--waiting for my future to come, waiting to find out what God has in store for me. Jesus was waiting His whole life, but He wasn't waiting for His plans to all work out. He was waiting for the cross. From the moment Jesus came into the world, His purpose was to face the cross--to take the punishment we deserve onto Himself. Jesus spent His life waiting for an excruciating death on a cross which came after mockery and humiliation. He had the power to walk away from the cross, to call down legions of angels and have the armies of Heaven wipe out all those trying to kill Him. But still, He chose the cross. He c...

How many times has it happened? Everyone gets up late, wanting to sleep in instead of getting up and around but knowing that they "have to." One kid complains about not having anything she wants to wear despite all the clothes hanging in the closet, another wants to wear his rainboots even though he's dressed up. It's time to walk out the door, and the kids still don't have shoes on their feet. The ride in the car is full of "Don't touch me!" and "Just leave each other alone if you can't be nice--I'm tired of all the yelling!" being yelled out. Everyone is fuming, mad at each other and frowning out the windows. Then, you get to church. Everyone plasters on a smile as you walk through the door, and answers all the "Good morning, how are you?"s with the popular answer-- "Great, how are you?" or the even more spiritual answer-- "We're blessed!" Too often, when we walk through the doors of the ch...