Once upon a time, perhaps you (like me) were sitting in a church, and you heard a man on a stage or behind a pulpit say something along the lines of, “You sinned, like all people since Adam and Eve sinned. Your sin separates you from God. God is too holy to look upon sin.… Continue reading Sin>God? Rethinking How We Understand the Good News
Tag: faith
The Thanksgiving Protest
My son has discovered the joy of drawing. Thank you, Cat Kid Comic Club books, for your little “how to draw” sections in the back, and Press Start books that developed him into a Super Rabbit Boy-sketching savant. Now we look up “how to draw” instructions on the internet or check drawing books out from… Continue reading The Thanksgiving Protest
God is Better than You Think, Part Three: A Better Faith
In this series of articles, I've shared how God has shown me that he’s better. It’s become somewhat of a mantra in my life, especially when pain besets my heart or a tragedy or injustice stares me in the face, and I wrestle with the question, How can God possibly be good in this situation?… Continue reading God is Better than You Think, Part Three: A Better Faith
God is Better Than You Think, Part Two: A Better Throne
Not having lived in any sort of actual monarchy, the thought of being subject to the reign of a king is unfamiliar to me, and I think most of us alive at this time. As I mentioned in Part One: A Better Parent, however I perceive God now, he continually shows me with each new… Continue reading God is Better Than You Think, Part Two: A Better Throne
God is Better Than You Think, Part One: A Better Parent
I grew up in a church that didn’t believe the theology of the Rapture, so I never had a true fear that some of my late-nineties teen contemporaries did, especially after the Left Behind books. I never worried that I’d wake up one morning and find my house empty except for myself, all my family… Continue reading God is Better Than You Think, Part One: A Better Parent
The Stuck Spots of Spiritual Trauma: Stuck Spot #2-CHURCH!
If you ever have or still do attend a church, why do you do it? Is it a practice that brings you closer to God? A ritual you feel obligated to do based on some understanding of Scripture? A chance to connect with fellow believers and socialize with friends? Now, here’s an even more telling… Continue reading The Stuck Spots of Spiritual Trauma: Stuck Spot #2-CHURCH!
The Stuck Spots of Spiritual Trauma: Introduction
When I released my memoir, Me Among the Stars, the week of Elliot’s birthday this past May, I felt like some part of the grief and trauma journey was completed. The death of my son forever altered me, and I spent the first six years of aftershock recovering from grief, loss, and some post-traumatic stress.… Continue reading The Stuck Spots of Spiritual Trauma: Introduction
Redeeming Time
In Ephesians 5, Paul exhorts his readers to redeem the time, because the days are evil. Many other translations call it “making the most of every opportunity.” But I like redeeming the time. That phrase from Scripture has always struck me as poetic. Webster defines the word redeem as to free from what distresses or… Continue reading Redeeming Time
My Sons
Which part of your child’s face is your favorite to study? You know what I mean. When he’s still (for two seconds), when she’s sleeping, when laughter alights their faces? I love Valerie’s freckles, sprinkled across her nose like stardust. I adore Sylvia’s sweet little cheeks; there’s something of the baby I carried still there.… Continue reading My Sons
Sentenced to Life
Today is the Spring (or Vernal) Equinox, a day when there is exactly as much light to the day as there is dark. On the Vernal Equinox of 2017, I went in for the 20-week anatomy ultrasound of my growing baby boy, Elliot. We’d endured four months of uncertainty in my awful pregnancy, and finally… Continue reading Sentenced to Life
Raw and Filtered 