Things We Don't Talk About
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The Secret of the Miracle of the Christian Life
I slipped into the bathroom stall and closed my eyes, cherishing the momentary quiet. “Holy Spirit, I have nothing left.” The words came out more of a sigh than a prayer. But, as soon as they left my mouth, I felt Him speak to my heart. “It’s okay, Christy. I never run out.” There it was: truth that made me smile and shake my head, and put tears in my eyes. As believers in Jesus, the Bible tells us that we have the very God of the Universe living inside of us, able to give us strength, energy, love, life, everything! (Seriously, take some time to read Ephesians 1:13-14; 3:14-21.…
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Embracing Our Sin
Oh wow, guys. I am a truly awful person! That’s not how this blog post was supposed to start. I had my post finished, scheduled to publish tomorrow at 7am, and was talking with my husband before bed. I decided to read it to him. And guess what? He wasn’t a fan. Hubby decided to make a few critiques and we got in a nice little argument. And then I got stubborn, and irrational, and trashed my post (which WordPress fortunately saved for me anyway.) We continued to fight while getting ready for bed, and then enjoyed some stubborn silence in the dark. I was doing a great job making…
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The Missing Member of the Trinity
I had an epiphany a while ago and it’s been rocking my world! I was driving alone in my car the other day pondering: What happened to the Holy Spirit in Evangelical Christianity? He definitely gets less than His fair share of attention. Theologically, the Holy Spirit is an equal member of the Trinity, but unless you attend a Charismatic or Pentecostal church, He is pretty much ignored… Sure, we tell people that they will receive the Holy Spirit when they trust in Jesus to be their Savior… We might mention that He is called the Comforter or Helper (John 14:15-26) or that He is the guarantee of our salvation…
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How My Parents Joined a Cult
Every time I tell my story, people ask the same questions. “What about your parents? How did they get involved? What do they think about Bill Gothard and IBLP now? How do they feel about you writing publically about all of this?” Well, here are some answers! I have talked with each of my parents separately and together to get these answers, and they have approved this blog post. An Introduction to Bill Gothard: My parents were first-generation Christians. They began their relationship with Jesus in college and got involved in a wonderful Christian campus ministry. The campus minister was instrumental in their spiritual growth. Unfortunately, He was also a…
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Living in the Real World of Gray
I was raised in a world of black and white, right and wrong, good and bad, us vs. them. Granted, my parents were more tolerant than a lot of families I knew, but the atmosphere was still there. And, it didn’t help that I naturally tend to think this way anyway. Let me give you some examples. Oy! Wrong and bad things (in no particular order): dating, college, women wearing pants, public school, blue jeans, bearded men, women with short hair, being friends with the opposite sex, Disney movies, any movie rated more than PG, movie theaters, white bread, pork, music with a “back-beat” aka rock and roll, CCM, country,…
