life. faithful.

 I was listening to a debate the other day between John Lennox and Peter Atkins, two Oxford professors with very different views on the Christian faith. If you're a nerd like me, you might enjoy watching the debate here . At the end of their debate, they were asked a question that boiled down to "Why do you believe the Christian faith is or isn't the right one?" John Lennox is a mathematician trained at Cambridge, Oxford, and Cardiff. He is also a Christian apologist who often speaks on how science and the Christian faith can coexist. If you've spent much time here, you know my views on the so-called conflict between science and faith, so I truly enjoy listening to Dr. Lennox (though I have to admit that I believe we likely disagree about a few things). When I heard the question and then Lennox's answer, it promoted this post. In the United States, the Pew Research study from 2022 said that 81% of people believe in God. I tried to find a number worldwide, but ...

 I was listening to Alistair Begg and he said that so often we say that we believe God is in control and will work everything out--but the problem is, we want and expect Him to work those things out the way we want, when we want. So often, we quote Romans 8:28 almost as some sort of incantation that will take any bad thing in our life and turn it into something good. But I would like to propose an uncomfortable idea--that might be a misreading. " And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." (NKJV) What if the main focus of that verse isn't actually the "work together for good to those who love God", but instead is the "according to His purpose"? We talk about the sovereignty of God, but so many times I think we still try to put limits on what that means. When good things happen, we praise God and thank Him for His gifts. When we are faced with hard times, we pray and a...

This upcoming weekend is a strange one. Like everyone else, I view Memorial Day weekend as the start of summer. It's a time for grilling out, spending time with friends and family, swimming (if you don't mind the water still being pretty cool), and sunshine. For the last 20 years, though, it's also been a day of remembrance. It's the day that reminds me of my brother's sacrifice in Najaf, Iraq, when he gave his life to protect freedom. It's the day I'm reminded of so many loved ones who chose honor and sacrifice over ease and peace. So as you enjoy your weekend, I would ask you to take just a minute to honor those who gave their all...and remember those who love them. I've posted this before, but it's been a long time. I can't tell you when I wrote this, and I'm not much of a poet. Despite that, in these words you get a tiny glimpse of the relationship I shared with my brother...and why he is still so missed. ***  You taught me to be strong ...

I was at our kids' athletic banquet the other night when a fellow mom of a senior asked me if I cried when my first graduated last year. I'm guessing she had noticed that I wasn't getting teary at our son's last athletic banquet, and that I had nothing but smiles the night before at his graduation. The short answer I gave her was that I'm really not a very emotional person (though it's more accurate to say that I don't let people see my emotions...). If I'm being honest, though? The idea of my kids graduating doesn't make me sad. Sure, there are lots of things I miss about my kids being younger. And when my daughter moved out for college, it was strange not to have her there at home every day. I'm sure the same will be true of my son when he heads to college in the fall. But if I'm honest? I'm not sad about my kids graduating high school. I'm excited about them growing up, moving on to the next phase of life as they make their way int...

  Who is this man? The Jewish chief priests and elders accuse him of crimes their people say deserve his death, yet he doesn't open his mouth. They say he is claiming to be the King of the Jews, staging a rebellion, yet he just stands there, silent. He listens to the crowd calling out for his crucifixion, be he doesn't defend himself. What kind of man does that? Who is this man, that he just walks like a lamb to slaughter? He is mocked and beaten, spit on and with thorns pressed into his brow--and yet he doesn't resist, doesn't protest, doesn't respond to those mocking him as King. He is offered wine to dull his pain, but he refuses. What kind of man can take such pain? Who is this man, who even when hung on a cross doesn't curse his executioners? Even now as he dies they mock him, yet his only response? " Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they're doing. " He hangs on a cross, yet he promises the criminal beside him that he will be...

Love yourself Live your truth Follow your heart Do what's right for you Get what you deserve Believe in yourself  The world is all about telling us how we should view ourselves. What we think and feel is valued above all else--don't let anybody else tell you what you should do, just live your best life right now. And while you're living that best life, remember that you should be given the best at all times--after all, you're worth it. But what are we really worth? If you look at the chemical basis, here's approximately what we've got: 65% oxygen 18.5% carbon 9.5% hydrogen 2.6% nitrogen 1.3% calcium 0.6% phosphorous 0.2% potassium 0.2% sulfur 0.2% sodium 0.2% chlorine 0.1% magnesium There are more elements at even lower amounts, but altogether? Estimates vary, but going off of the prices of chemical elements listed on wikipedia, you're looking at around $30. Obviously, we're more than the sum of our parts, though. Right? So what does the bible say abou...

                    "The celestial realms announce God’s glory;      the skies testify of His hands’ great work. Each day pours out more of their sayings;      each night, more to hear and more to learn. Inaudible words are their manner of speech,      and silence, their means to convey. Yet from here to the ends of the earth, their voices have gone out;      the whole world can hear what they say." (Psalm 19:1-4, VOICE)

Motherhood is a lot of things. It has good and bad, ups and downs...and no shortage of people telling you all the things that you need to know to be a good mom. If you're a mom, you've thought all of these at some point--I know I have. I'm far from perfect as a mom, and I still have a ton to learn. But as of today, we officially have 5 teenagers so I thought it would be a good time to share some of what I've learned in the past 18 years of motherhood...or rather, some of the things I've unlearned. 1. You'll fall in love with your child at first sight. I've become a mother in two different ways, through giving birth and through adoption, and I'll be completely honest. My first reaction when my tiny daughter was placed in my arms the first time wasn't a whole lot different from when we brought the three we adopted into our home: "What in the world am I supposed to do? How am I supposed to know how to be a mom?" Yes, I'm sure there are w...

 Moms and dads, we are failing our daughters. The world is telling them how to dress and how to carry themselves, and we're allowing it. We are letting Hollywood and social media teach our daughters how they should look, how they should speak, how they should carry themselves--and in that world, for some reason the only voice telling them they should be "demure" comes from an overweight man pretending to be a woman. What are we doing?! The world is telling our daughters that their value comes from how others perceive them . They are being told that they should dress "to catch a man" from childhood. They are shown women with unrealistic body types and told that if they don't measure up, they are somehow not good enough. I see teenage girls every day who are wearing skin tight leggings or booty shorts with tight, low cut tops. They are being taught to reveal every curve of their bodies while simultaneously being taught to conceal every perceived imperfection o...

  Welcome to 2025! Through the years, I've joined a group of people who have chosen to trade in the traditional New Year's resolutions. Instead, the idea is to choose one word that will stand as your theme for the year. It's what started this blog in 2012, and though I haven't chosen a word every year, it has been a steady feature most years since then. Some years, I've struggled to find a word up until January 1st. There have even been years that I've chosen a word, then started writing a post and found that a different word is stuck in my head and had to change everything. This year, though, one word has stood out for almost a month: STEWARDSHIP I can't say that it's the prettiest word...it's not like "believe" of "faithful" or "trust" or "follow" that lend themselves to flowy calligraphy. Instead, it seems business-like in my mind. I've got to admit, it isn't necessarily a word I'm super excited...