What Are the Needs of the Child?
Christianity Today just posed an interesting question and posted answers from three experts. The question is: Should We Stop Child Placement Programs if We’re Required to Work with Same-Sex Couples?
Christian Discipleship Lesson from a Blind Marching Band
In a previous blog post (You Can Have a Personal Relationship with God), I said that one of the best things about Christian discipleship is that you have the opportunity to develop a personal relationship with God. Just like any relationship, trust is a necessary element for making the relationship work. Even with God, trust is something that must be developed over time.
One of my favorite illustrations of trust is a band I saw in the Tournament of Roses Parade on New Year’s Day 2010. As usual, the floats were beautiful and the bands were superb. But what impressed me the most in that parade was the marching band from Ohio State School for the Blind.
Read the rest of this entry »
What Does it Mean to Turn Away From God Out of Fear or Guilt?
I have heard it said that God does not want us to turn away from him out of pride, fear, or guilt. I understand turning away in pride. For example, I can see that you might have the prideful attitude that your accomplishments and blessings are due to your own efforts. But turning away out of either fear or guilt was a little harder for me to understand. But no longer.
Christian Discipleship at the Auction
A key part of Christian discipleship is following the principles of good stewardship. Here is part o
f my journey toward becoming an ever more careful steward.
My husband and I went to an auction recently. It’s one of the things we’ve enjoyed doing together since our second date. If you’ve never been to an auction, let me just say it’s a very exciting thing – especially your first few times. And if you work up to the courage to actually bid on something, your heart will start pounding like you were coming over the top of the second hill on Phantom’s Revenge. That extreme effect goes away the more auctions you go to and the more you bid. But it’s still exciting every time you raise your hand because you just don’t know what the outcome is going to be. The adrenaline is always there.
What Does it Mean to Follow Jesus?
Follow Me from Recycle Your Faith on Vimeo.
I have been looking for a literary agent to help me publish my book, Heavenly Father’s Day, recently. I found this video on Telling Secrets, the website of literary agent Caleb Seeling, and thought it was worth sharing. The speaker, Vince Antonucci, asks three very interesting questions:
1. Does following Jesus just mean you have to be moral? Or is there more to it than that?
2. Has following Jesus made you astonished?
3. Has following Jesus made you afraid?
Heavenly Father’s Day Excerpt Supports Gay Marriage
With Judge Vaughn Walker’s decision on August 4, 2010 to overturn Proposition 8, I feel the time is right to show my support on this issue via an excerpt from my yet-to-be-published book, Heavenly Father’s Day. The following paragraphs are from the chapter entitled “Ministry by Monogamy.”
I have to confess that, thirty years ago, I was totally against homosexuality, period. Over the years, the Lord has brought a number of homosexual individuals into my life, each living in a slightly different situation. Because of what I saw in these people (some good, some not so good), the Lord has gradually led me to a change of heart. Like a potter with clay, he shaped me the way he wanted to (Isaiah 64:8). Read the rest of this entry »
You Can Have A Personal Relationship with God
One of the best things about Christian discipleship is that you have the opportunity to develop a personal relationship with God. From the earliest days of civilization, mankind has wanted to have this sort of personal relationship.
Imagine you are a citizen of ancient Egypt. Your most important god, Ra, is a statue in the temple at Karnak. The priests pray to him daily on behalf of all the people. You believe he is taking care of his people by making sure that the Nile River rises to irrigate your fields just as the water is needed. You are comforted by the idea that there is a god living in a temple in Karnak who is in control. But something is missing—you don’t have a personal relationship with Ra. Read the rest of this entry »
Three Easy Ways to Start Witnessing
Does the idea of walking up to someone and telling them about your faith make you go running for cover? For many Christians, especially introverts like me, witnessing is the hardest part of Christian discipleship. So, to help you get started, here are three easy ways to start witnessing.
Christian Discipleship in the Vegetable Garden
Part of Christian discipleship is being open to what God has to share no matter where you are. Today he shared with me in my vegetable garden.
This is the first year I’ve had carrots in my South Carolina garden. I didn’t do the planting. My sons did it. They were in a bit of a hurry because the eldest was only home for spring break and then he was headed back to college in the northeast, where planting outside was still a distant dream.
So since they were in a hurry, Read the rest of this entry »
Publishing Heavenly Father’s Day, Part 1–Starting a Blog
By mid-September 2009, copies of the draft of Heavenly Father’s Day were in the hands of my content reviewers. As I described in my previous entry Christian Discipleship in a Small Gesture, I had received encouragement from a stranger, and was looking forward to doing some research about publishing options. Read the rest of this entry »