Scarred

    A few weeks ago, I met a plastic surgeon at work.  He immediately noticed the scar on my face and started asking about it, and offering to do something to fix it.  I told him about my accident, how it was 20 years ago and I’d been told that was probably the best…

Daily Bread

“Give us today our daily bread.” Not tomorrow’s bread.  Not the bread for next week.  Just today, the bread we’ll need for right now. When Jesus taught the disciples to pray, this line brought to the forefront of their minds a particular part of their story as Jews. Moses led the Hebrew people out of…

The Apology Paige Patterson Should Have Given

Apologies are hard.  When you have to own up to your mess and admit you’ve done something wrong, it can be difficult to find the humility and vulnerability necessary to say you’re sorry.  Which explains why so many recent apologies have been criticized as anemic, lacking genuine remorse.  Many have asked, in the wake of…

Lessons Learned

I’m in such an interesting season of life.  It’s a season where I can only write in vague generalities, but I need to write nonetheless.  It’s tricky telling a story with no details, only the lessons being learned.  But goodness, there are lessons being learned. I’m learning that I can have grace and still have…

When You Fail

I come from a holiness background. Goodness, those are loaded words.  “Holiness” is a loaded word in the evangelical world.  It’s a great word, don’t get me wrong.  It’s what we’re called to, to be holy as God is holy.  It’s what the Christian heart longs for.  It’s what God is doing in us.  But…

Resolve

A fresh start.  An opportunity.  Your year.  A time to start over.  Resolutions. Commitments.  A clean slate.  A new you. #Goals It’s New Year’s Eve, the time that everyone decides how they plan to make the next year better than the last one, what we’ll do to improve ourselves or our lives.  And then of…

Before the Hallelujah

Several weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend a performance of Handel’s Messiah for the first time. It was at a small university auditorium with a small ensemble and orchestra, the soloists from our local opera program. And it was magnificent (and free). I don’t often get opportunities to go to such events, and…