“No one has access to the trash can.” A coworker uttered these words as she trained me on the hosting platform for our organization’s website and blog pages. She was encouraging me to get to know the system by exploring. Most things could be created without being published to the public site. The only thing…
I don’t think I’ll ever forget the look on her face. As soon as the words rushed out of my mouth, I regretted saying them, but they tumbled out faster than I could pull them back. Once they were out there, the damage was done. We were eleven years old that summer at church camp,…
Eighteen months ago, my husband and I were co-teachers of an adult Sunday school class full of people we considered friends. The eight couples who regularly attended were people with whom we shared our lives—the good and the bad—and they did the same. We studied God’s Word together, we prayed for one another, and we…
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…
Have you ever lain awake at night thinking about something you did years ago that still eats at you? Have you convinced yourself too much time has passed for reconciliation? I have. I’ve spent hundreds of hours over the decades regretting my choices. I’ve also spent too many hours dwelling in a wounded heart. Both…
My dad recently had surgery that prevented him from being able to swallow for almost a week. Although he got all the nutrition he needed through an IV, his thirst remained unquenched—and voracious. Finally, five days post-op, he took a single sip to swallow a pill. The look of ecstasy on his face as he…