A law will change everything. Planned Parenthood is the only place that helps pregnant women. Roe v. Wade will be overturned and all abortions will magically end. Did you know that according to current statistics there would still be 1,000,000 abortions per year if Roe v. Wade was overturned? Did you know that more women would die due to home abortions?
Read MoreThroughout our college years and our twenties, my friends and I got together each year in February to celebrate one of our favorite holidays. Not Valentine’s Day—Galentine’s Day.
Read MoreThere is a line in “O Holy Night” that goes: a thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices. While the weariness lingers everywhere these days, the hope and rejoicing feel a little harder to come by this year. When I am weary, I complain. It slips out of my mouth, almost subconsciously, and it has come much easier to me lately.
Read MoreThis year has been anything but normal. And with the holidays around the corner, it’s safe to say our Thanksgivings and Christmases will probably look a little different than we’re used to. But, the good news is, you can still celebrate the holidays by serving others.
Read MoreHi. I don’t know about you, but the last few days have been a little tense for me. I’m writing this as I watch the American election unfold from my California couch, and I’m struggling through a range of emotions. And I believe Jesus is still king, and my eternity is secured no matter who wins our presidential election. But, still, the tension of unrest is palpable.
Read MoreWhile on a trip to upstate New York earlier this year, I couldn’t help but notice how people filled their sprawling lawns with signs supporting either of the 2020 U.S. presidential candidates like badges of honor. From one-of-a-kind handcrafted signs to mass produced ones, it was clear who these residents were supporting in the upcoming election.
Read MoreWe are called to be in this world for a time, and while we are, our responsibility is to love and honor our fellow humans, showing off the love of Jesus through the way we live. This is why I implore my sisters in faith, to vote this November with a heart surrendered to Christ alone.
Read MoreMany people love to compare Bible characters. Themes in churches and society tell us we can be just like these characters. They specify us to be just like a woman character in the Bible - or for men - a male Biblical character. However, we are called to be who God created us.
Read MoreA couple of years after finishing college, I decided to move to France to teach as an English assistant in elementary school. While I spoke French passably, it was definitely a transition to suddenly having to communicate with everyone in the language after not practicing since my last college class. It took me a month to feel comfortable enough to brave attempting to go to a church in France.
Read MoreHave you been wounded by another person who confesses to being a believer in Jesus Christ? Is that person in a position of leadership in a local church? Do you have “sanctuary scars” that resulted in you feeling anywhere from burned out to soul-scarred and physically ill at the thought of walking through your church doors again? First of all, I’m sorry you’re in such pain as you begin reading this. While I can’t remove the pain, both yours or mine. I hope to point us to the One who heals, cleanses, and restores.
Read MoreA new buzzword in the church world (at least in America, which is all I can personally speak to), is “multiethnic.” A growing number of Christians want to be part of a multiethnic church, a place with “diverse” worship, a body of believers that resembles the beautiful picture John paints for us in his Revelation 7 vision.
Read MoreA memory popped up on my Snapchat, and I ended up down a rabbit memory hole, thumbing through my snap history back to when I first downloaded the app. The posts were snapshots of a girl with a smile, a witty comment, thriving through her high school years. Those posts offered tribute to a false narrative, the small controlled glimpse into my life I allowed my peers to see.
Read MoreIsaac. Many Christians know the story. God promises Abraham a son. He finally receives that son. Then, God does the strangest thing. He tells Abraham to take his promised son and kill him on an altar. Somehow, Abraham doesn’t even hesitate and goes to do what God asks.
Read MoreI remember it more than I like. I have a story almost exactly identical to this. I was with a huge group of friends, who are so loving and welcoming. They’re not intimidating or judgmental. They’re the opposite - silly and encouraging.
Read MoreThe other day I was at my church helping to set up for an event when out of nowhere I felt tiny arms wrap around me in a hug. I glanced down to see a little girl that I had never seen before. She looked up at me and said something which both surprised me and stuck with me: “I love you… what’s your name?”
Read MoreI can hear the ambient sounds of open space right now in this COVID world. Others are working or living in hospitals listening to the desperate cries of people as the ventilators give way and morphine is administered in their tubes.
Read MoreThis all happened on a ferry last summer. I was traveling between spaces, and I was weeping. I thought I would hide in the bathroom until I stopped, but I emerged and fell apart again. I didn’t want to walk all the way back to the bathroom and parade my grief before strangers a second time, so I sat on a bench, as children and couples passed. I cried for the whole hour.
Read MoreFor me, racial reconciliation is very personal. I grew up in St. Louis where the Ferguson riots were. My dad was an associate pastor near that area. Later, we moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the most segregated city in the nation. I have spent the last four years of my life sitting in the streets of the black neighborhoods hearing stories.
Read MoreNo matter what has happened in history, during some of our darkest hours, there is one truth that the bible shines a light on, God was aware and at work. Paul confirms this in Romans 8:28 when he states those beloved words “we know that all things work towards the good of those that love God and are called according to his purpose.”
Read MoreWe all pictured 2020 to look a little different than this. As we’ve all been watching the news for weeks now, this pandemic has unfolded right in front of our eyes. Never, did it cross our minds that part of 2020 would be spent quarantined at home. As we watch the news from home, all we see is death and suffering. You start to wonder, when will this all end?
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