It’s Sunday morning and you are off to church. You arrive on time for the worship service and slip into the back. Then, there it is. The happy couple in front of you with two kids and a dog at home with a nice home and great jobs. Just what you wanted to see when you came to church today, something you don’t have. Instantly, your morning focused on God turns into what you don’t
Graduation day has come and gone. Celebrations of “no more school ever” have faded and college room furniture donated to the next incoming student hopeful for the year ahead. Graduating college is a big day, the start of a new chapter in your life. Maybe you will move back home with your parents or have found a job in a new city. Wherever this new chapter in your life starts, it will start with new
Through my many years of singles ministry and working with pastors, one phrase is repeated often — “single for a reason”. It is the idea that singles are composed of misfits and odd ducks that are stranger than… married people. Next time you hear this phrase, here are some possible responses: We’re all messed up The false promise of this statement at its core is that it compares married and single adults and deems
According to leading wedding industry averages, nearly one-third of engagements end before the wedding day. That means when the right one says “I do,” there is more work to be done besides the wedding details. Engagement is not a time to stop focusing on your relationship, but rather the time to dig deeper into the reality of a lifelong commitment before God. Don’t make a lifelong commitment on a short-term relationship Maybe you are
Have you ever experienced great customer service? “Out of this world” kindness from a store or restaurant that compelled you to tell others about it on Facebook or Twitter? Now, have you ever wondered if the person that made that experience great was that same way at home as they are at work? Sometimes when people are paid to do something, they do it with excellence and exceed all our expectations. Truly serving another person
Whenever I ride the metro in Madrid, I look at people’s shoes. I know it seems weird, but I can’t help it. There are just so many varieties and colors, I can’t seem to take my eyes off them. Red shoes, big shoes, clean shoes, hiking shoes, running shoes, shiny shoes, work shoes, high-heeled shoes, muddy shoes, expensive shoes, old shoes, and even high-top shoes. Shoes can be powerful things. Marilyn Monroe is quoted as
Movies portray the single adult as a free spirit and anti-dating all because he or she fears a broken heart. But the realities of a broken heart are nothing new. In Genesis 29, we learn that Jacob works hard for seven years only to wake up the morning after his wedding married to Leah instead of Rachel, the one he loved. Outraged, Jacob must have been heartbroken since he had worked years for his true
Why do we have difficulties? As followers of the Way, we are called to hard lives. Jesus is pretty clear. Carry your cross. The more we traverse through scripture, the more plain the cross becomes. Lives of sacrifice. Lives where we choose others over ourselves. Lives where we believe and act as if others are better than ourselves. And, turning the cheek and humbly accepting criticism and persecution that comes with that territory. No wonder
Sometimes, I like to play a little game with my students. it’s called “telephone.” The objective of the game is to transfer the same message from the front of the line to the end of the line. When we are ready to begin, I communicate the message to the first person, and then I let the message go! Sometimes, when I check with the last person, the message got through…and sometimes… the message failed mid,
My plane landed in Central Asia in the wee hours of the morning. After training, I couldn’t get here fast enough. This is where I felt called to and had been working towards for a long time. It was finally happening. I was joining the work of taking the Good News to the nations. I piled my four VERY heavy bags on a cart, and basically skipped to the exit to meet my mentor. I
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