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A couple of years ago, I wouldn't have called myself a Christian perfectionist, but I did consistently have a vague and underlying sense of perpetual guilt. I believed that the Lord was pleased with me because of my Savior, Jesus, but I also lived with a partly subconscious suspicion that he might also be disappointed with me.... continue reading
For a long time, I wanted to be someone who runs. Over the years, I’d watched several family members and friends lace up their running shoes, bound out of the house and down the road, and return sometime later looking sweaty but invigorated. I’d like to be that person, I thought. But I’d tried it once. Maybe twice. And running was not something I did. Perhaps you feel something similar about spending time in God’s word. You know of friends or family members who make a hot drink and withdraw to a quiet room with their Bible in the morning, and emerge, sometime later, looking serene but invigorated. I’d like to be that person, you think. You’ve tried it once or twice or even a whole bunch of times over the years—or perhaps it was something you used to do regularly, but now you’re out of the habit. Reading the Bible is not something you do.
But it can be.... continue reading
I have never found prayer comes particularly naturally to me. I find it hard to concentrate and stop my mind wandering, and I regularly realize I need to repent of moving through my day without praying much at all. I know that prayer is a gift and a privilege, but I find it hard to live that out.... continue reading
They laughed behind cupped hands, grade-school whispers assessing her dress. Look! It’s as big as a tent! Peter’s face reddened as he accepted his forgotten lunch bag from his mother’s strong hand. Her face glowed, Scandinavian accent thick as she spoke love over her son in broken English. I dangled upside down from the playground bars, observing this heavyset woman adorned in a shapeless house dress swishing past her ankles.
... continue reading
When childhood illness strikes someone we know, it tugs on our heartstrings. We want to help, but what can we do? As a mother who has endured an extended hospital stay with her newborn son and a few unexpected medical crises thereafter, and as the founder of a nonprofit that ministers to families navigating medical crises, I’d like to share 10 practical ways you can help a family when a child is seriously ill.... continue reading
March 8 is International Women’s Day, so we’ve compiled a few books to help you reflect on God’s good plan for women. Read on for our recommendations for every girl from 7 to 97.... continue reading
One area that seems to be particularly in the crosshairs of progressive governments is schooling. The moral formation of the secular education system is designed to produce model citizens who will help us move towards a more just and equitable society. So far, so good. That’s what a Christian education system desires also. Yet their methods are at odds with each other. Christianity’s doctrine of human flourishing is now regarded as part of society’s problem, not part of its solution.... continue reading
My wife and I learned halfway through our first pregnancy that our son was not going to survive. A medical condition which we had never heard of introduced an agony we had never known. The doctors told us that our son would continue growing in the womb but would not live after delivery. Jillian would endure the discomfort of pregnancy and the excruciating pain of labor. But we would not come home with our son, Eli.... continue reading
A New Year is upon us and, for many, it’s a time to make some resolutions. While often these include things such as losing weight or exercising more, many of us recognize our need to be more consistent in Bible meditation, in exercising greater patience with our children, or in volunteering more at church or school. In other words, we set goals to help us accomplish things we know we haven’t been doing very well. While this exercise can help us reflect on ways we might grow in loving God and others, we must beware of focusing on all the things we “should” be doing, while failing to remember all that Christ has done on our behalf. The emphasis then becomes about what I need to do, (in my own strength and wisdom), rather than gratefully acknowledging the gospel grace that is ours through our Savior Jesus Christ.... continue reading
We commonly see the word “body” being used to mean a corporate gathering, a collective of people coming together for a cause or purpose, such as a “voting body.” But when we call the church the “body of Christ” we mean much more than this.... continue reading
