God Ponderings
Thoughts about God, religion, the Bible, etc.
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God Doesn’t Have a Big Plan for Your Life
Living Faithful, Ordinary, and Obscure A Good Lie He was at least twenty years old the year he lead my 6th grade Vacation Bible School group, and I was twelve. But age was just a number, and I was certain that I would grow up and marry that man. Randy was going to Bible college to be a missionary. He loved sharing the gospel. He was passionate about people in other countries who had never heard about Jesus. My twelve-year-old heart was passionate about Randy. God had a big plan for his life and I wanted to be a part of it. Then he got married to a girl he…
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This is Me – My Heart for Gen Z
This is usually the week I podcast, but I’ve been fighting off sinus junk and my voice isn’t exactly podcast worthy. So I decided to do more of a personal update on life—like I used to back when I blogged. As you probably already know, I changed roles at school this year and went from being a teacher to a behavior specialist. My days go by quickly and I take nothing home with me (except for some children who live in my head and heart). This has allowed me a little more time to create and dream. It’s been a gift. One of my dreams is getting back into speaking.…
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The God Who Is Here With Us
An Unexpected Discovery Last weekend my family went camping at Silver Lake State Park. Sunday was a windy, cooler day so we took advantage of the weather and hiked a mile and a half across the sand dunes to Lake Michigan. Sweatshirts went on, off, and on again as we hiked. We finally made it—panting and sweating—to the beach. The wind was whipping and the waves were huge. There was no one else in sight. It felt like we were the only people left on the planet. We watched the water crashing at our feet and wandered along the edge of the sand. In the distance I spotted something strange.…
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Shiny Happy People and the Church
This was originally published in my Substack Newsletter – Rethinking Faith I finished Shiny Happy People last week with my husband. It was a glimpse into my life for him and a difficult reminder for me. Some of the episodes were harder to watch than others. Unexpected emotions, pieces of memories, and a looming sense of dread welled up in ways I didn’t expect. I had to stop and explain, process, and breathe. (Episode 160 of my podcast was my response) As hard as it was to watch, it was also validating. I’ve been saying to people for years that I think Gothard has had more influence on Evangelical Christianity than we…
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Prayers for 2023
Desires and Hopes for the Coming Year As I enter 2023, I hold these prayers with outstretched hands: May we be people who tell truth—even when it’s hard—from a heart of love and compassion. May we stop hiding sin because we are afraid of ruining God’s reputation. May we become people who humbly admit when we are wrong. May we listen with openness to the opinions of others even if we disagree. May we learn to see one another as precious and valuable regardless of our differences. May our disillusionment with religion drive us to find the Real Jesus who was also unimpressed with outward behavior. May we take the…
