I stumbled across an amazing testimony this week by a man who got fed up with a religious system that had little to do with God’s heart. Hmm, can you relate too?
See if this strikes a chord, this heart poem from a man who grew up in Christianity but never saw true grace until he realized religion and Jesus aren’t at all the same.
I used to hear preachers claim,
The most important thing about you is what you believe about God.
My mental response was always, “Of course it is! I believe in God.”
But the view from here was of a supreme, all-knowing Being who looked down with a stern, wizened gaze. Never smiling much or laughing – at least not in my direction. Some days I knew He must sigh at my failure. Other times I was convinced He was shaking His head in disappointment.
So, every now and then I’d picture a loving father who cherishes and smiles on me in delight, but it was quickly overshadowed by my fear of disappointing Him.
Maybe my warped view of God stemmed Continue reading →
When I glimpse chosen in Ephesians, my mind drifts to elementary school and recess games.
The entire class lined up in two teams with hands interlaced. The other team would chant, “Red Rover, Red Rover, send [someone’s name] right over!” and that person from our team had to run as fast and hard as he could to break the other human chain. (Do you remember playing that one?)
The best part of the game? Being chosen. Hearing your name chanted – “Red Rover, Red Rover, send Janna right over!” I still remember the knot in my stomach, waiting, then the shiver of excitement as I heard my name.
Funny, but in a very small way, this reminds me of being chosen by God. Continue reading →
When I take my Maltese-Yorkie, Buster, on a car ride he adores sticking his head out the window, and I have to confess I’m a sucker for the happy doggy grin he wears when the wind’s in his face.
He gets especially excited when he sees a dog on the sidewalk or a swift bicycler and gets so worked up he’ll jump back and forth over the back seat repeatedly. (Yes, I have a very high-energy dog. You don’t know the half of it.)
Without fail his leash gets stuck between the seats, and he’ll start to whine and scramble frantically with his paws even though the more he frets the tighter his leash sticks. I can’t untangle him until we park, and by that time he’s moping because he has to sit still until I jerk his leash from the seat crack.
I know how Buster feels–stuck in bondage to something I can’t control and can’t escape. Continue reading →
Can I let you in on a little secret? I have a black thumb. No, make that two black thumbs.
As much as I love to cook with fresh ingredients and would adore using fresh produce from my own garden, I’ve come to grips with the truth (only three wilted tomato plants, four dead herb seedlings, a couple of droopy cuttings, a bug-infested apple tree, and one stagnant avocado pit later). The sad truth: I cannot grow things.
I tried this summer, really I did. For the third year, I potted a tomato plant. (Other Coloradans keep telling me how they don’t know what to do with all the tomatoes their voluptuous bushes yield. Yeah, secretly I kinda wanna smack ‘em.)
This year the plant was called Health Kick. You’d think a plant with health in the name would be, well, healthy, and produce beautifully, right? Continue reading →
Here’s something I’d like to ask God today:
Poppa,
If we gaze on Your grace, will we have a better picture of how You see us? Will we glimpse what You’ve spelled out for us a little like Charlotte (though You’re never this small) with her stupendous Wilbur? Continue reading →
If God is for us, who can be against us? Rom. 8:31
I got stuck on that tiny 3-letter word, for. So, I looked it up. Know what it means? Being on your side, shielding you, favoring you, furthering your cause. Ever tried to wrap your head around those three short letters: F – O – R?