“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:2 NASB). I grew up in a conservative church filled with wonderful people who loved Jesus. The leaders surrounding me desired to live their lives…
Who here has been hurt by the church? I have, and I feel confident that if you’ve been in church for any length of time, you’ve probably been hurt too. In my thirty years of church involvement, I’ve witnessed enough hurt to call it quits—plenty of it. I’ll share one experience. Throughout my childhood, my…
Seven years ago I spent a weekend alone with God, and I’ve never been the same. At the time, I felt as though I were drowning. My addiction to pornography had been ruling my life for nearly fifteen years. While there had been glimmers of light and hope at various times, I always found myself…
The conversation around our outdoor table continued late into the evening, well past the time someone had quietly cleared the dinner dishes. As I watched the lightning bugs blinking in the trees surrounding our patio, I remembered long-ago summers when my dinner companions were smaller versions of the lovely young women they’ve become. As I…
It was the perfect morning for a run. A cool breeze bent the long grass in its wake. The early morning sun cast golden-pink light on everything it touched. I rolled out of bed, dressed, and laced up my hot-pink running shoes—my normal pre-run routine. But I did one thing differently on that summer morning….
“Wait. When do you have to be out?” My friend and I were sitting in my living room, and as she looked around, she was thinking she must have misheard me. My family had been living in our rental home for two years, and it was time to move on. We were scheduled to turn…