For God so loved the world… One of the most quoted verses from scripture affirms God loves creation so much that God chose to reach us in a body. Jesus’ presence brought all the ethereal notions of God’s love to life in tangible ways by the way he touched people, fed them, healed them, hung out at dinner with them, worshiped with them. All ways we can follow and model. Faith in God might be somet…
As I write this article, my garden is in full bloom. The impatiens have outdone themselves this year; orange and red flowers brilliantly line the border. The zinnias are blooming with an array of rainbow colors along with the hydrangeas. Last year I planted a few perennials and then waited with hope for them to reappear. But only one plant came back, which made it easy to keep track of the rest…
Okay, friends. Here’s the truth: plenty of times in the past few years felt like life and work were held together with scotch tape and bubble gum. I have a suspicion that I’m not alone in this sensation. Weekly changes to programming, monthly shifts in our kids’ schooling, daily shifts in availability. No bounds seemed untouched by constant change. While still true to some degree, this most recen…
Frederick Buechner once wrote that “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet.” I’ve known and loved this quote for about a decade or so now, but am only recently learning to articulate how it may, possibly, play out in my life. I’d like to challenge you to consider your own deep gladness, as well as invite you in to mine. It was within the context…
If you stop in my office you will see that I am a big Mr. Rogers fan. Fred Rogers was all about inclusion, love, and grace. When you watched his show you always felt like he was looking straight at you and telling you that you are loved. He talked about our feelings (it’s okay to be angry sometimes) and how to say I’m sorry. Most of all Fred, like Jesus, gave us grace – grace to know that when we mess …
“Okay, so hear me out. What if we’re like the workers at the hotel and everyone else is staying at the hotel and it’s our job to love them so they can learn about Jesus?” “Tell me more.” We were discussing how to be ambassadors of the gospel at JAM (Jesus & Me, our 5th & 6th grade youth group) when one of the students shared this idea. We (the church) are the staff at Hotel Heaven. As guests come…
