Grace is an oft-misunderstood topic in the church. I think we’re all growing in our understanding of grace, but many of us grew up in church contexts believing we needed to earn our grace. I was blessed to grow up with a fairly healthy understanding of God’s grace, the gift he freely gave me regardless…
Donald Trump may just leave this country better than he found it. These are words I never thought I would put on paper. In the wee hours of the morning of November 9, 2016, I wept. I could not sleep. I felt like I had awakened to a hazy fog. How could this have happened?…
He didn’t ask questions. He didn’t give a lecture. He didn’t sulk or give the silent treatment. He ran. His arms were open. He bestowed gifts. He restored. Do you forgive others the way the prodigal’s father forgave him? I will be the first to admit I do not. Permit me a brief recap of…
“You can choose your sin, but you cannot choose your consequence.” As Havilah Cunnington tossed out that statement from the stage at my church, all I could think was, “Yep.” My head flooded with memories. How many times had I cried out in frustration to God because I didn’t like a hand I’d been dealt?…
One of my son’s favorite restaurants is IHOP, where he somehow manages to fit an entire Funny Face pancake into his kid-size stomach in about ten minutes. We went to eat there last weekend at his request, and as soon as our food was delivered, he gleefully started gobbling up his breakfast. About five minutes…
The ophthalmologist’s assistant had performed all the preliminary procedures and tests—the drops in my eyes, the “put your chin here” in front of that mammoth whatever-it-is machine, the instrument on my numb eyeballs, and probably some other procedures I have since gratefully forgotten. But she hadn’t hinted at the coming shock. My doctor casually walked…