I’ve always thought of Lust as only having to do with sex. It was always held up for me as the opposite of purity, chastity, virginity. When I think about it now, I realize that this narrow definition has actually become quite a convenient for me as a 21st Century American Christian. In limiting the term to only having to do with sex, I’ve conveniently blinded myself to other areas affected by Lust in my...
The rain pelted the hoods of our jackets as we rushed under the shelter of the awning, standing alongside the others waiting to enter the sanctuary. We stepped through the doors and headed towards our normal pew section (we don’t want to sit in the same pew each week, but being people of habit, we have our regular pew section). Though the sanctuary was living up to its name, protecting us from the sting of...
Stars are pretty cool. If you have ever laid out under a dark night sky to see the vibrant tapestry of the galaxy above you, you might understand how it could become someone’s captivation, one’s ambition. Such was the case for Percival Lowell. You may have heard of him. He was born into a wealthy Massachusetts family in 1855, graduated from Harvard, and spent some decades of his life actually as a US foreign secretary...
“The grass is always greener on the other side, so water your own damn lawn!” my friend told me the other day (in the most loving way, of course). As I think about this piece of wisdom and trying to find contentment in my own life, I’m grateful for the reminder to cultivate what I do have, and seize the current opportunities offered to me in this season of life. In this season of trying...
I’m fortunate enough to be doing my graduate work at a small, liberal arts college in Southern California, where, in the middle of January, I get to walk to and from class in temperatures ranging from sixty-five to eighty degrees. In all honesty, if you’re running late or forget a book, this walk can seem to be, in the moment, an annoyance. That being said, when I’m not sweating, trying to make it to teach...
Your hand th-waps your night stand, grasping for your mobile device to swipe and to silence the iPhone marimba alarm tone. Once the disturbance to your sleep is silenced, you pause, process a death and slow breath, and liberate yourself from the tomb of your bedsheets. Perhaps you slip into your slippers. Or your robe. Or your Spongebob Pj’s. Whatever this morning’s attire, you make your mission for the kitchen, fill the kettle with water,...
This past weekend, our youth ministry began a series exploring the ins and outs of worship. As a way to ease into the series, our middle schoolers (5th-8th) spent Sunday morning practicing prayer through the acronym PRAY (praise, repent, ask, yourself). The students progressed to different stations where they explored different Scriptures that related to each theme, and then were given space to write out their own prayers to God. As you can expect from...
As I settled into the book of Deuteronomy this evening for a little devotional reading, I was taken aback by the following verses: “Normally it takes only eleven days to travel from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea, going by way of Mount Seir. But forty years after the Israelites left Egypt, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses addressed the people of Israel, telling them everything the LORD had commanded him to say.” (Deut....
Recently, I saw a video of a flash mob that I thought you all should check out (if you haven’t already). I first saw it at a church service a few Sundays ago. Check it out: As I was watching this video initially I thought about how random it would be to experience one of these epic flash mobs that go viral on YouTube. It would be so cool to stubble upon something great like...
I am lucky to live in the Bay Area. And never have I felt luckier than the day Batkid came to town (if you know nothing of Batkid, please read this) When the story leaked that the Make-A-Wish Foundation planned to transform San Francisco into Gotham City so that Miles, a 5 year old who beat leukemia, could fulfill his dream to be Batman, I knew I wanted to be there. And so did about...
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