I spent an extended time this morning studying  James 1, the result of signing up for my first-ever Beth Moore Bible study. Her biggish hair and cheerleader intensity had always freaked me out a little bit -by “a little bit”, I mean “a lot” – but since I’m a new girl in a new town,…

It might be a child dedication, a naming ceremony, or an infant baptism. New parents, perhaps adorned with a burp rag, parade to the front of the congregation with their precious babe-in-arms. Some combo of sibs, godparents, grandparents and family friends may join the parade. The proud family stands before God and the congregation, formally…

Maybe it was the parenting book loaded with cliches written by someone whose oldest child was 6 years old. Or it could have been a Biblegateway.com concordance word search of strung-together topical verses masquerading as a sermon. Or perhaps it was the blog post that was nothing more than regurgitated words the author parroted from…

A true disciple of Christ travels light, right? We’ve all heard messages about how Jesus sent 72 of his first disciples out in his name with instructions that included traveling with only the clothes on their backs. We have Paul’s impassioned description of what his life as a follower of Christ was like in 2…

Perhaps it is a sign of the times. This month, instead of Christmas carols, I’ve heard minor key songs of lament from so many people I know. I am powerless to do much to alleviate most of the suffering around me. I want to be present, to be honest about my own similarly-broken state, and…