“The world is not simply divided between judgmental and nonjudgmental people,” writes Terry D. Cooper in his book Making Judgments Without Being Judgmental. If you think it is, you’re caught in the very vortex of black-and-white thinking from which judgmentalism is spun. The reasons we judge, versus the reasons we are judgmental, are as deeply […]

I buried my ninety-seven-year-old grandmother this week. I didn’t get to say goodbye while she was still living. As she lay in her casket, the struggle finally out of her body, I placed my hand on hers and told her, one last time, I loved her. Her last words to me, to her family, to […]

I love to have everything set up perfectly before beginning a project. Whether it is painting, writing, studying, or even reading a good book, I like to feel equipped and prepared, I like to have my house clean and my space and mind to be clutter free. I want the perfect ambiance, the perfect music […]

I asked my mom one night as she tucked me in bed, “What do you think heaven will be like?” She answered, “The Bible says everyone will worship God all day and all night.” I thought about church worship and about singing in the pews. I thought about how some people closed their eyes and […]

So, you’re sitting there one day. Maybe you’re alone. Maybe someone you don’t know too well is talking you through it, or maybe your favorite aunt has just finished telling the story, explaining the mystery for what might be the sixth time, and, finally, you get it. The light goes on. It makes sense. The […]

Why is God silent when we pray? In the Bible we find God speaking with multitudes of people. Starting in Genesis we read about God talking with Adam. In Revelation, we read about God talking to John. Throughout the entire Bible we can read about God speaking to people. Were those events restricted to the […]

What do Christians mean when they say, “I’ve been called by God” or “I’m seeking my calling?” Clearly, God Almighty doesn’t call us on our cell phones. “God called me” is a popular phrase in our community. So, what does it mean? When we speak of “our calling,” most of the time we think we […]

Being a Christian can be tough work. It should be, really. We are all incredibly flawed human beings, so fixing anything that broken should take a herculean amount of effort. If it was easy, I’d say something was wrong. Luckily though, we don’t do it alone. Christ is available to us in every way. The […]