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Monday Prayer for July 5, 2021
I’m asking our Father to give you joy, peace, and strength for this day. You are loved! ~Tara
The Glove
A glove lay on the table, its yarn soft and clean. It was proud of its red hue, striped with black and white. No knots marred its design. It was perfect. One day, a boy slid his fingers into the little glove. What a surprise! The little glove could move and wiggle, each one of its fingers working together . It flew high and dipped low. It could curl in on itself or stretch as wide as could be. What movement! What power! The little Read More
What’s the Deal with the Christianese?
Something that cracks me up about believer lingo is the way some of us inadvertently slip into Christianese—you know, that unique way of speaking that identifies us as “Christian” to the outside world. The problem with Christianese is that it’s only understood by people within the same subculture. Much like consulting the Urban Dictionary to understand what on earth your teenager is talking about, Christianese can be downright confusing to new believers or those outside the group. When a friend of mine moved down south Read More
When Your Road is an Emmaus: What to Do in the Waiting
“A watched pot never boils.” The old adage has rolled around in my brain for the past few months as I’ve waited for something to happen. The “something” doesn’t really matter as far as this blog goes, but that “something” has been tormenting me, calling over and over. Why is waiting so hard? That dream that once seemed so certain seems frustratingly elusive at the moment. It’s as if God is keeping His hand on my shoulder as I survey the new landscape before me Read More
A Tale of Three Dogs: What it Means to Walk with God
I have three dogs that keep me hopping. All different breeds, all different ages. Their favorite thing each day is for me to walk them around our neighborhood. It’s not an easy task. Trying to keep three dogs in pace with varying temperaments and attitudes can be tricky, but God has taught me a lot about myself and my relationship with Him as I’ve wrestled my wild canines and herded them through our quiet streets. Brieanne is an 8 month old blue heeler and is Read More
What’s up with the Christian Cliches?
Guys, sometimes we just need to stop. Stop and think about what we say. Words have power. They have meaning. What we say can build up a life or destroy it. The phrases we so easily fling from our lips can stir up hate and violence, or bring peace. They can cause someone to run to the arms of a loved one, or dash away into the night. They can bend the thoughts of the wise or crush the weak. Sometimes, I think we hear Read More
Cracked Pots
A fable A water bearer in India had two large pots, one hung on each end of a pole which he carried across his neck. One of the pots had a crack in it, while the other pot was perfect and always delivered a full potion of water at the end of the long walk from the stream to the master’s house. The cracked pot arrived only half full. For a full two years this went on daily, with the bearer delivering only one and Read More
What I Learned in the Darkness
I’ll never forget the night I told God, “I want out.” I was Miss Christian. I did it all. Taught the classes. Organized VBS. Took the teens to church camp. Always smiling. Always ready to lend a hand. And I was miserable inside. Depression is a silent cry. Likewise, anxiety is a storm of crippling intensity inside the mind, but can appear like a tranquil lake on the outside. Depression is not always the dark-clad figure hiding in the back of the room. It’s the Read More
Shattering the Fairytale: When Perfect Isn’t Enough
The Disney princesses messed me up. I confess I had quite a fascination with them when I was growing up (after I finished my Princess Leia phase, that is). I was going to be as beautiful as Aurora and I was going to have a grand adventure like Belle. And I was going to be a singer like Ariel. Or at the very least, a marine biologist. But let’s get real for a moment, shall we? There was one big problem with all those Disney Read More