life. faithful.

 We see the Christmas story in a neat, polished picture: a serene young mother, Mary, with her doting husband by her side as they adore a peaceful new baby while the animals watch quietly; beautiful angels singing in the night sky to a group of shepherds who then bow around the manger; 3 kings decked out in all their splendor. We speak of peace on earth and depict the birth of Christ as a moment solely of peace and joy and all the happy feelings. But the peace of Christmas isn't about a neat, polished story where everything is going perfectly. The young mother? She was far from home with only her new husband, expecting a baby that had most likely made her the subject of rumors since she first started showing. She had endured a trip of around 70 miles at the end of her very first pregnancy, not really knowing what to expect or when the baby would come. She got to a new city where she was given a place in a stable instead of a room, then gave birth to her first baby far from home in ...

When I started looking into the weekly themes for Advent, I realized there's not really a uniform list... so I guess I just get to pick and choose what I focus on ;) So I'm using this list from Focus on the Family a few years ago: Last week was hope, and this week I want to look at faith.    One of the most famous places to look at for faith in the bible is Hebrews 11, often called the "faith hall of fame." In the Voice translation, the chapter starts off with this: " Faith is the assurance of things you have hoped for, the absolute conviction that there are realities you’ve never seen." (Hebrews 11:1) What follows is an amazing list of some of the heroes of the bible: Abel Enoch Noah Abraham Sarah Isaac Jacob Joseph Moses Rahab Gideon Barak Samson Jephthah David Samuel We all love to hear the great, dramatic stories of faith. We are thrilled to hear about miracles and people standing for their faith in the face of great persecution, like Daniel when he was...

 It's the season of Advent, the time set aside for celebration and reflection as we count down to Christmas day. "Advent" means (from the American Heritage Dictionary) "The coming or arrival of something or someone that is important or worthy of note." As a tradition, the celebration of this season has been around for at least 1,500 years...but it's not something I grew up with in a Southern Baptist/Methodist family. This year, though, I feel drawn to focus in these days leading up to Christmas. This first week, my focus is hope. When we generally talk about hope, our meaning usually leans more toward wishing for something. We talk about something we would like to see happen, but something we're really not sure about...we  hope  for our team to win a game, we  hope  to get a certain gift, we  hope  to get to go on a vacation, we  hope  for a certain political outcome. There's a secondary definition of hope, though--to have confidence or trust...

 I'm revisiting something I haven't written about in a while--education. I've been involved in education in one way or another throughout my entire life. My dad was a teacher and coach when I was born, I was in college for what seemed like an eternity (it encompassed my years from 2002 until 2015, with a small break when Nathan and I moved to Oregon for his time in the Coast Guard), I spent a few years in high school classrooms, and I've worked in higher education since 2019. Recently, UCSD released the results of a study on their math remediation course. Besides a massive increase in the number of students required to take remedial math, their study showed that a majority of students in that course couldn't solve middle school math problems. While so much of the world was shocked by the results, I just nodded...because I (and probably anyone teaching math or physics) have known that was true for years. To be honest, the decline started a long time ago. I would argu...

 There's a man who claims the role of pastor who has recently announced that polygamy is biblical, and in fact he himself has taken a second wife and is expecting his 8th child with her. His argument isn't one I really want to get into, though there's definitely plenty to say. Instead, I want to look at what I think is the bigger picture here: what does it mean for something to be "biblical"?  It seems like we hear that argument thrown around a lot lately. This most recent example is polygamy, but this isn't a new method for trying to justify things. It goes back centuries...I would argue that as long as the Jewish Law has existed, people have twisted and manipulated it to say what they want. The fact that God placed regulations around slavery was used to justify slavery as "biblical." The fact that men in the Old Testament had multiple wives is being used to say polygamy is "biblical." It's the same story, different tune. But the fact ...

 Today is Veteran's Day, the day the US sets aside to remember all those who have served in the military. It seems to get brushed aside lately--our nation has a tendency to forget about those who made the choice to serve and protect. If you know a veteran, take a moment today to thank them for their service. Each individual who signed their name on that commitment made the choice to put themself between our constitution and any enemy, and that's not something we should take lightly. The Oath of Enlistment (for enlisted): "I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God." The Oath of Office (for officers)...

About a month ago, I had the opportunity to spend a weekend at Higher Ground. It's a weekend retreat designed to help those who attend draw closer to God. Though I'm exponentially more comfortable putting words on paper than speaking them out loud, I was tasked with the last talk of the weekend called, "Days to Come." Though it is given by a different person each weekend, the theme of the talk stays the same. After a weekend spent getting closer to God, that last talk is meant to be both an encouragement and a challenge. Though it's been changed a bit, I would like to share that talk with you (and you have the benefit of reading it yourself instead of listening to me, so there's that). *** When’s the last time you fixed a hole in a sock—or even just fixed a button on a shirt—instead of throwing it away? Or you knock a mug off the counter, maybe even a favorite, and just grumble as you pick up the pieces and toss them in the trash, because you know you could ne...