Does Jeremiah 10 Prohibit Christmas Trees? (And Other Good Questions)
This question comes up a lot at Christmas: Is Jeremiah 10 a prohibition of Christmas trees? Let’s look at what it says. Hear what the Lord says to you, people of Israel. This is what the Lord says: “Do not learn the ways of the nations    or be terrified by...
How to Get Your Kids to Own Their Faith
Yesterday, on a whim, I asked for some input on a new theology curriculum for parents/kids. I just wanted to hear some of the struggles with discipling kids and teaching them about God. I was inundated with replies! I was a bit astonished at the amount –...
Dishonor Culture and God’s Better Way
Last week I had an experience I will never forget. Josh and I were wrapping up a date night by stopping by the grocery store. We were on another side of town, a wealthier area, and he dropped me off at the store while he got gas. The store was nearly empty as I picked...
When Sorrows Like Sea Billows Roll
Unless we’re close – down the street, in your life kind of close – all we can see of other’s lives is what they show us. People assume that if someone doesn’t dump their vulnerability onto the internet, they don’t struggle or...
Anxious and Worried About Many Things
In the last week we attended a wedding and a baptism. We witnessed the unity of a young man and woman becoming a new family. And we witnessed the unity of six new believers joining the family of the church. Both baptism and marriage are sacraments, sometimes called “a...
He Will Be Faithful Again
We moved to Pennsylvania from Virginia when I was 37 weeks pregnant with Adeline. Some of you have heard this story – how Addie was born 5 days later in a previously unplanned home birth, with a sweet Mennonite midwife – the only practitioner who would...
Church Matters… But Why?
We seem to be hearing a cacophony of messages about the church. We hear that the church, the gathering of committed believers led by Christ, is important. It matters. We also hear devastating stories from within the church. Abuse and cover-ups, pride and favoritism,...
Do All the Good You Can
Each of us is in a corner of the world the other can’t reach. I can’t reach the people in a Georgia suburb like the people in the Georgia suburbs can. I can’t reach the neighbor in southeast London like the people in southeast London can. You...