Does Life Ever Make You Feel Helpless? Good.

Have you ever felt helpless? Have you ever felt totally out of control?

There are things swirling around you that you can’t explain, don’t understand, can’t stop.

It kind of makes you dizzy, no?

Maybe you just can’t seem to get a grip on life. Guess what? That’s a good thing.

Jesse Barker (CC)

A Story You Probably Won't Believe about the Birth of My Third Son

Abram’s birth gave Katie and me a scare.

I’m not one for birth stories. All that blood and mucus and meconium (a nice way to say poop) just grosses me out. But this is a story I find more than coincidental. In fact, you might not even believe I’m telling the truth.

Better Prayer: A Lesson from Jeremiah

I used to work at a greasy pizza parlor. We baked the pies directly on a stone above a blazing fire, just the way it should be. That oven would get so hot, I think I still have scar tissue from the burns.

The boss made the schedule in two week increments. One time she released the schedule, and I was supposed to work a Saturday night. But I didn’t want to work. So I intended to ask off. I was so confident that I could get off work, I even made plans with my friends for that night. I was seventeen.

Patrick Fore

I approached my boss to request off, and you know what happens next.

“No.”

Everyone else had already asked. I was sheepish. Now I had to either blow off my friends (and fun) or else push the issue, and risk losing my income source (by which I was able to have fun).

A conundrum if you will.

How Not to Pray

The disciples famously asked Jesus, “Lord, teach us to pray.” Jesus responded with the Lord’s prayer. They did not ask him, “Teach us how not to pray.” But if they did He would he might have given them this lesson from the book of Jeremiah (in addition to the other things He told them).

Why You Shouldn't Care About Saving the Earth

There was this sweater that I loved. I’m kind of a sweater aficionado in general (they’re my grown-up version of the security blanket), but this was everything you could want: soft, versatile, hip, and it fit me perfectly. Oh, and the best part: my lovely bride bought it for me.

Aaron Escobar (CC)

While pulling it over my head one day, I ripped a hole in the armpit. My mother-in-law graciously sewed it back together, but not long after that the sweater got a small hole in the rib area that increased in size with every laundry cycle. Then I managed to stretch out the sleeves to the point where the arms would flop around and slouch toward my elbows. As time went on, the color started to fade. I wore that sweater so much it basically dissolved. 

One day I made the hard decision to throw it away. But instead of doing so, I set it next to the trash can just in case I changed my mind.

Finally one day I did the deed.

Why Jesus Chose Gethsemane

Jesus would have rather been anywhere else, but he chose Gethsemane on purpose.

His betrayer knew it well because Jesus often took his disciples there (John 18:2).

Photo Credit: Episcopal Florida (CC)

What he was about to do would be by far the hardest thing he’d ever done. Fasting for forty days? Elementary. Astounding the teachers in the synagogue? Raising a man from a dead? Nothing to it.

No, this was different. He’d felt pain before, but nothing like what was about to happen.

That Jesus went to a garden in order to begin the process of atonement was no accident.

The Lie Some Christians Like to Tell You about Being Rich

I won’t tease this one. I’ll give it to you straight. Here’s the lie:

The more money you have, the more evil you are.

Photo Credit: Reza (CC)

This lie is proliferated on several fronts:

In the political sphere.
From the pulpit.
In the workplace.
In literature and cinema.

Envy often fuels this sentiment, but I think there is something more underlying the argument.

How to Be a Terrible Christian in 9 Easy Steps

So you want to be a horrible Christian? You've come to the right place!

Photo by Kyknoord (CC)

Here's how:

What to Do If God Is Ignoring You

Lee Haywood (CC)

You pray, and you don’t feel anything.

You plead with God. Dead air.

Have you ever been there?

I have.


When God Stopped Talking to Me

A few years ago I read through the Bible in ninety days. It was exhilarating. It was exhausting.

That, coupled with the step of faith my wife and I took to be foster parents, led to one of the most intimate periods of my life with God.

I could feel his presence at church and when I prayed. There were multiple times when I felt God impressing things on my heart. Life was stressful and emotional, but it was all okay because me and God were tight.

Then one day it stopped.

No more tingling sensations in worship. No more direct messages from God.

I was still reading my Bible every day. Still praying. Still going to church.

Why was God ignoring me?