“Everfaith” had become “ShakyFaith.” Church services felt super-sized — as if I walked into the McDonald’s of Religion and ordered a Contemporary Worship Salad with a side of Powerpoint Dressing. Continue reading Discovering A New Lens
Parenting and homeschooling a teenager in the Evangelical Bible belt has not been the easy road I thought it would be. When my daughter was just a toddler, the songs “Father Abraham,” “Deep and Wide,” “the B-I-B-L-E,” and “This Little Light of Mine” reverberated throughout the house. She delighted the people at our church when she spontaneously danced with pure joy in the aisle during worship. No one else was dancing, but that little girl in the purple tutu danced with abandoned glee! There is a reason Jesus told us we needed to have the faith of a child! When … Continue reading Discovering a New Lens
I didn’t go to church today. I didn’t go last week, either. The truth is, I’m feeling a little bit like an outcast who has been wallowing with the lipsticked pigs — not at my church, specifically…but in the Church in general. Something in the American church is desperately missing, and I’m part of the problem. Many people I’ve run into are attracted to Jesus…but they don’t want to have anything to do with “Christians” or with “religion” or “church.” And many people brought up in Christian homes desert the church as they leave home. Why? Remember those bracelets all the kids used to wear that … Continue reading People Are Living Under The Bridge While I Sit In Traffic
My daughter had some interesting questions the other day about the notions of pride and self esteem. She said she felt like she couldn’t be proud of work she’d accomplished because pride is a sin…and there was a part of her that didn’t want to be a Christian anymore if the cost of being a Christian is to constantly beat yourself up. Wow. Talk about tough talks! I’d love to say that I kept my cool and laid out logic for her, but that wouldn’t be true. Instead I felt frustrated and teary-eyed as I desperately tried to hang on … Continue reading Pride matters
Last night’s sunset was breathtaking in its splendor. I was late to an essential oils party because I HAD to stop and try to capture it. There are many times that I want to stop and capture images because something about them capture me. I really like photography because, in a way, as the photographer I get to manipulate reality. Using my zoom lens, I can cut out all the distracting elements that otherwise clutter the scene. If I’m using a fixed lens, I can cut out the distracting elements later, using the ever-helpful crop tool. Sometimes I wonder … Continue reading Cropping out Pluralism
EverFaith 