During a nine-month study on the book of Romans, our small group found ourselves discussing chapter 12 the same week Reverend Billy Graham passed from earth to heaven. Our discussion began with what it looks like to live a life as a living sacrifice, as addressed in Romans 12:1–2. Romans 12:1–2 (CSB) says, “Therefore, brothers…
My father was a full-time minister, and in his denomination and district covering half a state, the pastors were assigned to a different church every few years. When it was your turn to move, the process was kind of like musical chairs, only no one was left without a “seat.” On a single, exhausting, and…
See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. (1 John 3:1 NIV) For some time now, I’ve been crazy about the word lavish—a juicy word that…
“A cheerful heart is good medicine.” ~Proverbs 17:22 NIV When my mother arrived at the hospital for my birth, she was accompanied by her mother because my father was miles away finishing seminary. (Please note, seminary.) My grandmother—whom I suspect was none too happy my father was, in her mind, AWOL—was so discombobulated that she…
Watching my parents fight cancer for two years forced me to consider what life would be like without them. Talking to my single friends about their loneliness puts a sad ping in my stomach. Seeing my girlfriend worry about her widowed mother, I panic a little on her behalf. Watching a military wife while her…
When I was fourteen years old, just discovering the “mall bang” and a love for sweater dresses, I stumbled upon another discovery. This one was life-changing, and it happened on what I believed to be an ordinary Sunday. My family and I loaded our too-large clan into our too-small vehicle and headed off to church….