The Gospel of Mark writer is a master of word economy. Popping verbs. Sizzling accounts. Rampant pacing. In his opening chapter, he omits details of Jesus baptism and temptation, and splices two events side by side in a handful of startling sentences. With cool water...
What begins as a gift soon becomes a grind. Endless demands. Pressing deadlines. Unexpected interruptions. The pressure to perform and produce can leave us feeling weary in the marrow of our being. The joy designed to grow into sweet plumpness soon shrivels. Smiles...
Jennie Allen convinced me that I had to attend my first ever IF: Gathering in February. “You just have to be there,” she persisted. “I just know it.” One of Jennie’s many giftings is that she’s a persuasive force to be reckoned with. When Jennie knows something deep...
Over the past few years, I’ve had well-meaning people speak life, hope, and love into me during the some of the darkest days of battling cancer. Their words were Honeycrisps dipped in 24-karat gold served on silver platters (poetic translation a la Proverbs 25:11)....
Far too many in the church today want to tell you that following God will make you richer, skinnier, more powerful. Good Friday grounds us in the truth that God does have a plan for your life; it’s just darker and dirtier than you’ve been told. Over the last six...
Like a child holding onto a bundle of cherry-red helium balloons, I celebrated whenever joy was in my grasp, but also recognized the speed with which it could slip away, deflate, or disappear altogether. I knew better than to outright refuse joy, yet all too often I...
