Does God protect me from harm? Should I pray to ask Him to do so? Does He promise to protect me? Can I expect it? These questions have been a personal debate and dispute for much of my faith journey. How often we pray for protection! How often we think God doesn’t do a good […]
I sat with an old frail woman in the waiting area at the courthouse a while ago. Her family had gone outside to have a cigarette to relieve the stress of the circumstances that day. I found myself in what was a privileged position – a sacred place – as she recalled her story to […]
Gomer. The book of Hosea tells us only a small part of Gomer and Hosea’s story. It seems to finish abruptly, switching to the story of God and Israel, and in the process leaving us with so many questions – Was Gomer able to receive and settle into the love that Hosea had for her? […]
I’ve been letting Nadia Bolz-Weber’s sermon this week of The Parable of the Sower have room in my thoughts, mulling it around, giving it space to grow and to sit deep within. I have enjoyed this thinking space. In her words, this parable is about “the lush and ludicrous image of how God extravagantly sows […]
I remember this day. We were swimming in the Red Sea in Israel. Floating to be more exact. It’s the weirdest feeling. The high salt content means you can lay back – and relax – without sinking. At first, as we walked into the water, we were unsure about how to go from standing to […]
Mary, mother of God the Son. With it being only a day or so into this days-long wedding celebration, Mary, an invited guest, and, more pertinent, the mother of God the Son, steps in with quiet confidence to the situation before her. She was concerned for the reputation of this beloved family as she witnessed the nervous scampering […]
It’s only Day 4 of this Coronavirus lockdown and I’m #*%&@ ! I’d like to use an actual expletive, but my conscience doesn’t sit right with that. It’s how I feel today, and there’s no other way of describing it. I’ve lost some significant things in my life. Big things! Actually, I shouldn’t say lost, […]
This year, I decided to do Lent. I’m not sure why. Others from my church were doing it so I thought I would too. I didn’t even really know what it was about, but I like some of the ancient liturgies, and thought I would participate. I sort of knew that Lent meant giving up […]
Anxiously for three days, she searched for him. She was three whole days beside herself in desperation and worry. How could she be so irresponsible to let this happen? Every year, for 12 years, she had walked with her husband and son, the 104km journey from Nazareth to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover. […]
My personal Facebook bio relays a conversation between two friends, and reads, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” “Kind”, says the girl. I have seen the effect of kindness, the way it values, softens, heals, allows others to stand down from defensiveness, even repent. Kind is who I want to be […]