You may be seated in a small and sparsely furnished room, staring at the single painting, waiting to learn whether you got the job. Maybe you are the nail-biter pacing the floor of a hospital waiting room, longing for a word of hope that your loved one will pull through. Read More

I grew up in a home where I learned at an early age that words matter. I remember times when a prohibited word would slip out of my mouth. I would receive “that look” from my mother, a reprimand, and possibly disciplinary action. My mother tells me that as a… Read More

Perhaps you’ve selected a Bible and started reading it. Maybe you’re even setting aside regular times to reflect or pray. You’ve gotten a taste of what’s inside, and a desire for God’s words is growing in you as you recognize the nourishment God offers in these encounters. What comes next?… Read More

There is a lot of talk about self-care these days. It comes in all kinds of different forms: “me time,” “treating myself,” “boundaries,” and a multi-billion dollar “self-improvement” industry. Often the mantra of “self-care” just feels self-ish, a tagline to the individualistic self-centeredness of our day. But as I train… Read More

Listening to weeks’ worth of famous break-up albums after you’ve been dumped isn’t necessarily healthy, but amid my own fresh heartbreak, it felt like the most appropriate, and potentially cathartic, thing to do. Get Lonely by The Mountain Goats played as I got dressed in the morning. I cooked dinner… Read More

The light slants on smooth marble. The room is still. Everything has been cleared, even the hard pews and baptismal font, those familiar markers of corporate worship. An elaborate pattern is laid out in front of me, taking up the majority of the floor. In twists and turns, it traces… Read More

Have you ever read your Bible and felt like the words were speaking directly to you? The passage may have been written centuries ago, but it seemed just as applicable to you today. Perhaps you could identify with Paul’s audience in Corinth or God’s people suffering in Egypt. The same… Read More

I sat with a young Marine in my office, his face turned towards the floor. He had lost weight since I saw him last and had dark circles under his eyes. As he shared his story, I heard deep sorrow in his voice. He had miscalculated a situation and acted… Read More

The season of Lent is upon us, beginning last week with Ash Wednesday. In many churches, clergy traced ashes across recipients’ foreheads, reciting the words, “Remember that you are dust and to dust you will return.” This somber reminder led us into a forty-day journey, mirroring Jesus’s time of being… Read More

Think back over your morning or day. What steps did you take to arrive right where you are, in this moment? Did your alarm go off this morning? Did you wake up on time? Did you get kids to school? Did you commute to work? What conversations did you… Read More