The prosperity gospel teaches that God rewards us with health and wealth in proportion to our faith. Passages like John 16:33 lead me to deny the veracity of these claims. But, while studying Genesis, I came face-to-face with how the message of the prosperity gospel had seeped into my own theology. I had unknowingly embraced…
“No, Mom,” my son whispered. “They’re asking if we’d like to go to a late breakfast with them.” I sighed audibly, smiled, and nodded. The lightbulb of understanding was finally on. After several minutes of trying to decipher what the Spanish-speaking couple was asking me, my son had come to my rescue and translated the…
Do you ever read or hear God’s Word and brush over verses and stories you have memorized because you think you already know what they mean? This happened to me the other morning. I was praying—or rather, begging—God to deliver me from my years of sleepless nights. I wanted a cure. Or at least an…
“This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9 NLT) My daughter taught me the courage to try again in a high school gym. Sophomore year, as the defending champion at her high school conference gymnastics meet, my daughter jumped…
Recently, we got together with another family whose kids are around the same ages as ours. The adults were sitting at the table talking, and the kids were in the other room playing Apples to Apples. I heard my older daughter say to her younger sister, “It’s not like you’re picking a college; just make…
She sighed. I could hear the resignation in her voice. Her shoulders slumped, and she frowned. “I study all the time, and I still have the lowest grades in the class. I’m not confident I’ll pass the course. Maybe I should drop out.” I noticed dark circles under her eyes, the result of coffee-fueled evenings…