The Fog of Unforgiveness

The Fog of Unforgiveness

The week before Easter was so painful that I could not even open my Bible. My prayers seemed to be blocked. No praise, no supplication, no communication whatsoever got through. My mind was a jumbled mess of static that simply could not reach out to God. Every time I walked past my Bible on the kitchen table, I felt a moment of compulsion to open it, followed by a sense of futility. I simply could (would) not hear God. The only voice I could hear clearly was my own, convincing me of my justifiable pain and suffering at the hand of my husband. Oh, woe was me. 

The Right Road

The Right Road

A friend of mine recently began a sentence with the phrase, “They say that…” I can’t remember what she said they said or even who she said they were, but I do remember that I didn’t agree with whatever she said they said.

Five Ways to Help Children Fight Fear

Five Ways to Help Children Fight Fear

I clung to my mother, nearly breaking skin as I sunk my fingers into her arm. Trembling, heart pounding, terrified, I buried my face into her lap. She sat helplessly, stroking my hair and talking softly to me until I grew calm.

The source of my terror? Absolutely nothing.

Is God Always Good?

Is God Always Good?

We Christians have our sayings. In response to, “How are you?” we have, “Feeling blessed!” Or, “I’m feeling sick today.” “Oh, I’ll be praying for you.” Or, “Got a raise today.” “Amen, praise God!” Or,  “I just saw the worst news on the Facebook this morning.” “Wow, hard to understand, but, God has a plan.”

Please don’t misunderstand me. We Christians are sincere people who want to help and serve and encourage. And these phrases are not bad. It’s just that they are used so profusely and so automatically that I worry that the depth of their meaning has been hollowed out...

Thoughts on Thinking

Thoughts on Thinking

I knew an elderly woman who was a prolific crocheter. Each day she would sit in her living room, crochet hook flying, afghan materializing from wrists to ankles in a matter of hours. And while this sweet woman crocheted, she thought. She was also a prolific thinker...

Prosperity in the New Year

Prosperity in the New Year

With the coming of the New Year, I am in agreement with Jose Feliciano when he sings “próspero año y felicidad,” a prosperous and happy New Year. As Christians, we can expect that, right?

Let the Nations Be Glad (Reflections on the Cross Conference)

Let the Nations Be Glad (Reflections on the Cross Conference)

I’m sitting in the Indianapolis International Airport, waiting for a connecting flight to Detroit and on to Baltimore before returning home to Lancaster, PA. My husband and I are heading back from volunteering at the Cross Conference in Indianapolis, Indiana...

Fox-Catching Joy

Fox-Catching Joy

Often, it’s not the big problems in life that steal our joy, it’s the accumulation of the little ones.

Hope Breaks Through Heartache

Hope Breaks Through Heartache

My husband and I have a prodigal.

She came to us when she was nine, and left us just before her eighteenth birthday. We were certain (and still are) that God brought her to us. She was alone in the world. A literal orphan. Her mother died when she was six. Her father was incarcerated. Her extended family couldn’t care for her. I noticed her because of her beauty — impossibly huge brown eyes, a wavy chestnut pixie cut that framed her innocent face, and a confident countenance that defied her inner turmoil, a turbulence birthed through years of trauma and abandonment. It didn’t take long for God to show us that she belonged in our family...

The Doctrine of the Force

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The Doctrine of the Force

I was fifteen when Star Wars first hit the big screen. With my four year old cousin in tow, I sat in a packed house in the Queen Street Theater in Lancaster, PA’s downtown. The theater is now a bus terminal, but when I drive by there I sometimes reminisce sitting in the dark, cousin and popcorn balanced on my lap, and being blown away as spectacularly as the Death Star. What a phenomenon...

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He Just Is

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He Just Is

When my children were little, and we would come across some natural beauty in the world-a sunset, the ocean, a scenic view-I would ask them, "What is God?." They would respond, "A good artist!." I never wanted them to forget for a moment the author and the origin of beauty. I was reminiscing about this recently, and realized that this description of God is not enough. It's lacking...

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From Liberal Church to Greater Love

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From Liberal Church to Greater Love

If the doors of St. Luke’s were open, we were there. While the men had their meetings and the women worked their sloppy-joe magic in the church kitchen, we kids played in the bowels of the church basement, losing ourselves in exploration, ping-pong, and hide-and-seek. We were (fairly) careful not to disturb Mrs. Scheffer’s felt board and puppets. And it was awfully fun to play the old pump organ downstairs in the Primary Room...

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To My Unbelieving Friends: Please Hear Me Out

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To My Unbelieving Friends: Please Hear Me Out

There is an account in the Bible (John 9) that tells of a beggar who was blind from birth, whom Jesus healed by spitting in the dirt, making mud, and putting it on the man's eyes, healing his blindness. Witnesses who saw the man come home with his sight restored doubted the account and said it wasn't the same guy. The "learned leaders" of the day came to the man and interrogated him, indignant that Jesus had healed him on the Sabbath. They called Jesus a sinner, but the man called Him a prophet. Incredulous, they interviewed the man's parents, who being nervous that they would be persecuted by the legalist set, verified that the beggar was their son, and that he was, indeed, blind from birth. They then readily deferred to their son for a detailed explanation. The leaders went back and grilled the man, accusing him of being a liar and a sinner. The man became indignant and basically told these "righteous" authorities, "Hey, you guys claim to have all the answers, yet you don't know where this guy Jesus comes from.  How in the world could he have made me see with just  his spit if he wasn't from God? And we all know that God doesn't listen to sinners, so what does that make you?" (Just a bit of paraphrasing, there). Then the man added simply, "Whether he is a sinner or not, I don't know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!." (No paraphrasing here.)...

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Humble Confidence

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Humble Confidence

Lately I've been wrestling with pride vs. confidence. God gives us gifts. We are called to use them. But if we walk in complete confidence as we use those gifts, which is the only way to use them to their capacity, we run the danger of falling into pride as we enjoy success and perhaps even affirmation or accolades from others...

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On Christmas

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On Christmas

There is a sliver of me that doesn't want to give any gifts this Christmas. At least to my family.  It's not because I don't think they deserve gifts, or that they've been "bad" in some way. I have a wonderful family. And, it's very true when God says that we love to give good gifts to our children. No, that sliver of me just wishes that Christmas wasn't what it turned out to be...

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God is great, God is good...

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God is great, God is good...

Every morning when I pray, I praise God because He’s good. I got to thinking about that, and I realized that my love for God is based on the fact that He is good. But my reverence for Him stems from the fact that He is also great. He is both. And this is significant to my walk with Him...

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God's Silence

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God's Silence

We had a rough week two weeks ago.  A seriously rough week. It was the kind of week that led me to question God and to wonder where in the world He had gone.  I related to the psalmists who lamented their souls were downtrodden, their bones were broken, and their hearts were troubled...

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The Crucified and Risen Christ

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The Crucified and Risen Christ

I’ve just finished reading the book of Acts...again. I really wish Peter Jackson or someone would make an epic movie about this amazing book. It’s full of suspense, peril, action, adventure, miracles... and the start and spread of the Church of Jesus Christ...

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