Burnout
There are many Christians who are in no risk of burnout whatsoever. They don’t overly invest themselves in the life of the church or other people, they are not given to being at every meeting or event that is put on, they seldom volunteer and they don’t go out of their way to take on extra responsibility. To be honest, they’re not that committed. But for the host of Christians who are not like that, the Christian life can at…
Emptying Ourselves
We were made to lose ourselves but not by being identical to the Lord or anonymous to other people. We were created to walk with them, fit with them, complement and love them. Faith itself is relational engagement in which we know and respond to Jesus. And, when faith and love are animated in our relationships, we look more unique, more full of life because this is God’s intent for us and this is how the Spirit of God works…
Inconvenienced by Inconvience
“It is my hope that people feel they can invite themselves over to my home. I hope they feel that I am willing and eager to use my gifts and talents and time to bless them in whatever way I can. I hope people see that my house and my home and my life have an open door.” Read more…
One Big Tip to Make Your Resolutions Stick
“‘Tis the season to begin to consider those annual New Year’s resolutions. ’Tis the season to first evaluate whether such resolutions are a good idea or a bad one. Speaking personally, I am a believer in New Year’s resolutions. I believe our lives benefit when we take time to think, evaluate, and dream a little, to consider how we are doing and how we have been living, and to compare it to how we want and ought to live. The…
Purchasing Joy
With the gift giving of Christmas just around the corner, can we purchase joy? “But here’s the thing. I look at those pictures, the pictures of the presents, and realize that they are almost all long gone. They’ve all been forgotten and thrown away. Most of them, anyway. The Playmobil fell apart, the kids grew tired of it, and eventually we freecycled it. My son got bored of the trucks and we gave them to a friend. Or maybe they’re…
Worship Interrupted – Sunday Morning with Little Ones
“Attending worship with small children in tow can feel like trying to sleep with a helicopter hovering over your bed. What you want is refreshment and inspiration; what you get is low-level tension, discomfort, and distraction as you brace yourself for what might happen next. Those who have attended worship with small children for a period of years, as I have, might begin to feel that the effort expended in the fight for focus isn’t worth the seemingly small return…
Here comes Santa Claus
From an author who recently wrote a book on St. Nicholas – “I don’t remember ever ‘believing in Santa’. I never found out Santa wasn’t real. There was never a conversation in which our parents ‘told us the truth’. Instead, something about how we celebrated Christmas in our home allowed me to hold the character of Santa in an amiable tension with the Christmas story. When I tiptoed into the living room on Christmas mornings as a girl, some of our…
The Common Sin of Middle Age Believers
“Each stage of adult life presents its own unique challenges. Young adults worry about finding work and getting married. Older folks have increasing health problems and the loss of independent living. And those in their middle age years, with their own set of struggles, often find themselves “caught in the middle” trying to help aging parents while guiding their children into adulthood. In the midst of these challenges, it might be helpful to be aware that there are also…
One Question to Unlock Your Evangelism
“Your neighbour asks what you did over the weekend. You think to yourself, Should I mention church? If I do, am I ready to share the gospel? If I am, how do I get there? You know you should say something to your barber, or to the barista at your favourite coffee shop — something about Jesus, something about the gospel — but you feel stuck. Palms are getting sweaty. Guilt is circling like a bird of prey. You feel…
The Best of the Boring Parts of the Bible
“Let’s admit it, there are certain parts of the Bible we skim because . . . well . . . because we think they’re boring. They’re repetitive, overly detailed, full of names and places we can’t pronounce. So why bother with them? There are many reasons — not the least of which is that even the parts of the Bible we deem to be boring are significant because they are God’s word to us. Here’s my top ten list of…