One of my closest friends recently experienced something difficult. I waited for God to open the door for me to talk to her about my faith, his goodness, and how I had gotten through the same experience. But while I did feel God’s presence, he never opened that door. She did all the talking. I know that…
In Jesus’s parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14–30 ESV), a man going on a journey entrusts varying amounts of his talents—or money—to each of three servants. These servants are δουλος (doulos), bond servants. Spiros Zodhiates’s Word Study Dictionary of the New Testament says a δουλος is “a slave, one who is in a permanent relation of…
Every summer of my childhood growing up in a coastal city, I spent many days coated in sunscreen and sand, swimming in water that made my lips turn blue. The plots of land near the water were only half-developed back then so we would park down random alleyways that had big sandlots where houses would…
My family recently visited an all-inclusive resort in Playa Mujeres, Mexico. We were treated to an ocean view, a stocked mini bar—and restroom facilities far fancier than the ones installed in our 115-year-old army-base quarters. The ability to fit two people into the Jacuzzi tub at your hotel when you can’t fit two people in…
God Values Words; We Should Too As I write this, a Twitter-verse war has erupted about the media using the word lie in relation to our current president. This comes at the same time the Southern Baptist Convention, to put it mildly, is wrestling with careless words spoken by their leader that have negatively affected women…
Long before the emergency room doctor turned to me with sad eyes and told me my husband was gone, I knew. In fact, I think I knew he would not be revived while he was still on our bedroom floor, a half-dozen paramedics busily preparing him to be transported to the hospital. Something deep within…