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Our Cranky Hearts are Leading Us Home
This is the final part of a three part series. Yesterday I left off with this sentence: “So where do we go from here? How do we find enough faith to seek when we just feel tired, and cranky, and cynical?” That’s exactly where we are going to pick up. Fair warning, this might be a rant! 🙂 Don’t be ashamed of your doubt and questions about God. Or afraid of your cynicism and the snarkiness that simmers just beneath the surface when it comes to organized religion. Or feel guilt because of your depression and/or disillusionment with Christianity. Can I be honest? I am so over American Christianity. I literally…
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The God Who Wants to be Found – Pt. 2
If you read yesterday’s post, then you know that I am treading on some shaky ground according to some conservative Christians. Asking some slightly heretical questions. 😉 That’s okay! Questions are good! Let me clarify some things before I continue. I don’t believe that sincere faith in just any religion guarantees access to heaven. I do believe that Jesus is the only way to the Father. I do believe in a literal hell. But I also agree with C.S. Lewis. “We do know that no person can be save except through Christ. We do not know that only those who know Him can be saved by Him.” C.S. Lewis, Mere…
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The God Who Wants to Be Found – Pt. 1
Is God truly loving? And if He is, then how can He condemn millions of people to hell? If God is really good, then what about all the people in the world who have lived and died without ever hearing the gospel? How can people be responsible for their sin if they never knew anything different? What if they were sincerely following their religion? Shouldn’t that count? If God condemns people to hell who aren’t responsible, then He can’t be good and loving. He must be angry and horrible. Who wants to believe in that kind of God anyway? “The space between doubting God’s goodness and doubting His existence is…
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But Jesus isn’t White…and Why it Matters
Back when my husband was a youth pastor, one of his favorite object lessons was to print a bunch of images of Jesus and lay them on the floor. He would ask the teens to choose a picture that they resonated with and stand by it. He found some really crazy Jesus’s as well as more traditional ones. Sweet Jesus in white robes, surrounded by children. Tough Jesus, arm wrestling Satan. Gentle Jesus, holding a lamb. Powerful Jesus, calming the storm with one outstretched hand. Bad Ass Jesus, with his sleeve rolled up showing a “love” tattoo on his muscular arm. Hot Jesus, tall and handsome with a confident stride.…
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A Peek Inside My Heart
Welcome to a peek inside my heart… A random collection of my current thoughts and experiences. A year ago I was in the middle of the darkest season I’ve ever gone through. It was bitter, and painful, and long. It felt like the Valley of the Shadow of Death that David talks about in Psalm 23. There were times that I just wanted to die. It completely broke me. I’ll be honest, healing takes time. Sometimes I feel like I’m doing good, and sometimes it still hurts. Last week, memories were coming back in a flood. I stood there in church during worship fighting back tears…just one person among hundreds…feeling…
