What If God Were Like Alexa?

Over Christmas, my husband and I got both sets of parents (and ourselves) the new Facebook Portal so that we could video chat with them. My father-in-law has had some health issues, and it's been a real blessing to not only talk but to see him and my mother-in-law on a video chat format that's easy for everyone to use. But the portal comes with something I said I'd ...

Read More

Those Who Make a Way

I was fortunate enough to be in the northeast for the nor'easter that started on Thursday night. Almost a foot of snow fell overnight--something rarely experienced in my home state of Arkansas. Even in a place like Syracuse, New York that is well equipped to deal with snow, removal takes a minute or two--especially when snow is still falling. The morning after the snow began, I needed to make a two-block ...

Read More

What Is Truth?

Pilate went back into the palace. He summoned Jesus and asked, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you say this on your own or have others spoken to you about me?”  Pilate responded, “I’m not a Jew, am I? Your nation and its chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?” Jesus replied, “My kingdom doesn’t originate from this world. If it did, my guards would ...

Read More

Say no to pride and yes to humility

The first day of August, typically one of the hottest times of the year across the country, is a great time to think about the story of Jesus being tempted in the desert. Because the dog days of summer may be the best time for us to try and relate to what Jesus went through.  Just imagine: You have been out of work for over a month. It’s August in Arkansas and the ...

Read More

The need for lament

Psalm 13 Psalm 13 is a psalm of lament. Psalms of lament are more than a little uncomfortable to read.  Should the psalmist really be saying those things out loud? Should we even be reading this stuff that the psalmist shouldn’t have said out loud in the first place? I mean, this kind of Psalm made the final cut into the cannonized scripture, right? Surely they’re not as blasphemous as they ...

Read More

Why Taking On May Be Better For You Than Giving Up This Lent

When I was in seminary, a classmate of mine decided to give up beer for Lent. It's not that he had a drinking problem he was trying to address, he just really liked beer and thought that giving it up was his best bet to to test his discipline and commitment. It was not easy. This was Boston and St. Patrick's Day fell right in the middle of Lent that ...

Read More