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A Plane Ride, Politics, and Pharisees
Full Disclosure: This is a rant which may mention politics. But it’s more than politics. I spent the entire flight home talking with a beautiful woman named Patricia. She was sweet, kind, passionate, friendly, and liberal. Listening to Patricia, I was reminded again where Christians and the Conservative Right went wrong. Don't miss a thing. Click here to sign up for my newsletter. Patricia loves people, but she doesn’t sense that love from conservatives. She was raised in a church but struggles to link Jesus with the people and politics that claim His name. I feel her pain. Too often, Christian and political conservatives have one thing in common.…
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A High Ropes Course Called Life…
I strongly dislike high ropes courses. But, I adore zip lines. This has been my dilemma as a youth pastor’s wife for the past five years. High ropes courses seem to go along with youth retreats and camp experiences. I hate them. They terrify me. But, I want to participate, to be a positive example to teens who are also terrified. Plus, there’s almost always a zip line at the end! Did I mention that I love zip lines? Don’t miss another thing! Click here to subscribe to my newsletter. For those of you who have never experienced a high ropes course, let me explain the horrors. High ropes courses…
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There is No Magic Formula, But We Still Have Hope…
In my last post, I wrote about ways we try to manipulate God, twist His arm, and push the right buttons on His “heavenly vending machine” to get what we want. While most of us would never come out and say it this bluntly, the formulaic way we treat God speaks for itself. We believe the lie that there are specific spiritual steps we can follow to achieve a desired outcome. We try to claim Bible verses (out of context) and say they promise things like physical healing. And when none of these things work, we blame ourselves or others for a “lack of faith” (as though there is a certain…
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But God is Not a Vending Machine…
Reblogged with a few tweeks from last year because I needed to hear this again! It’s easy to say that we believe God is all-powerful and that He has the ability to intervene on our behalf. But what about when He doesn’t? When a young couple, serving on the mission field, looses their healthy, newborn son to unforeseen complications, after two previous miscarriages… When a wonderful, loving pastor’s wife suddenly dies… When a family battling cancer with their teenage son finds out their second son also has cancer… Really, God? If you are really in control and absolutely powerful, why would these things happen? If we are honest, we will admit…
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Jenga Builders Anonymous
“Hi. I’m Christy, and I build with Jenga blocks.” “Hi, Christy!” *** If you didn’t get a chance to read my blog post last week, this won’t make any sense. 🙂 Don’t worry! I’ve linked it here God Does Not Care About Your Jenga Blocks so you can catch up. Last week I wrote: “There we are, trying to build our Jenga towers, poking out blocks and stacking them on top, carefully balancing all of the “good things” that we are “supposed” to do, hoping that everyone, God included, is noticing. When everything stacks up, we feel satisfied, proud and accomplished. But when life falls apart, when we lose control, when we…
