In the Baptist church of my childhood, every Sunday service ended with an altar call. My pastor stood at the front of the church in case anyone needed prayer or wanted to make a profession of faith in Jesus. During that time, the music minister would lead the church in a hymn from the Baptist […]
It wasn’t that long ago that you made your New Year’s resolutions. Remember the one about reading the Bible more? Maybe you resolved to “read the Bible every day.” This was going to be the year you were faithful, you were certain. And now that we’re nearing the end of January, you’ve already gotten behind […]
The steam from the industrial dishwasher plumed into the air in the back part of the kitchen. My shift had ended an hour ago, but the rules were straightforward: every member of the wait staff had to roll fifty silverware bundles before leaving. Rolling silverware was mindless work, a nice reprieve after several hectic hours […]
“You could be faithful with your frailty.” I was walking the track at the gym like I do every morning before my workout, and the lyrics from the Christian hip-hop artist were so quick I almost missed them. You could be faithful with your frailty.[1] He’s speaking, I think, to our inability to make our […]
A quick scroll on any social media platform shows me one thing about the people I follow: everyone is mapping out their goals for 2024. Some are planning diets; others are beginning new exercise regimens. (Most are doing both.) Some are making financial goals or career plans. I’ve been encouraged to see many people making […]
Last Sunday, my family and I went to a local nursing home with a group of fellow church members to sing Christmas carols for the residents. I had prepared my kids for the nursing home as I have in the past, reminding them to be kind, to ignore the smells, and to notice how happy […]
“Why do you cry every single Sunday, Mom?” I was rooting around under my seat for the wad of tissues I’d stuffed in my purse before heading to church that morning. I laughed at my young son’s whispered question because it’s true. I do cry every Sunday. My pastor-husband had just finished his sermon on […]
My grandmother used to interrupt our stories to correct our theology. We often praise the Lord when He protects us from something or when we barely scraped by in a tough situation. We say things like, “I almost had a car accident today, but the Lord protected me! Isn’t God good?!” or “I was afraid […]
The clouds were pink. And gold. And kind of orange. We’d left an overcast Nashville and slipped in between the gray and blue to a kind of cotton candy purgatory in the sky. I usually opt for an aisle seat, but this was a commuter plane, so if you were in seat A, you got […]
I’ve long used January 1st as the day I’m going to get my life together. New diet? Clean slate starts January 1st. Exercise plan? I’ll begin on the first of the year. Keep the Tupperware cabinet from throwing plastic containers at me every time I open it? Organization will commence on the first day of the […]
