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Notice and Do
Recently, Poiema Visual Arts invited me to share some of my heart on utilizing our strengths on their blog. Here’s a brief excerpt of my article: When it comes to contributing to the world around us, the opportunities are truly endless. One might notice a need to educate and equip others. In turn, that person might just be a fantastic school teacher, professor, or mentor. Another might notice a need for leadership and pursue a life of public service or pioneer a movement promoting healthy change. Yet, another might have a unique knack for systematizing and thrive in a career of logistical engineering. Still, others notice fresh ideas, see opportunities…
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Know. Love. Serve.
My last two blog posts have invited you to keep growing in your knowing of God and explained how this process overlaps with the concept of spiritual maturity in the life of the believer. Furthermore, I provided some practical steps for this process. Recently, I was given the opportunity to sit in this reality a little longer by speaking on Deuteronomy 6:1-9. (Start at second 46 in the video below to watch this message). In this passage, the children of Israel have taken their seats on the banks of the Jordan River and are listening to Moses share a final exhortation before making their way into the Promised Land. Of…
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Part 2: Keep Growing in Your Knowing
In my last blog post, I explained that Knowing is a Scriptural theme and pointed out how it often overlaps with the concept of spiritual maturity in the Apostle Paul’s writing. Furthermore, I shared passages of Scripture that reveal the way Paul aligns spiritual growth with an ever-increasing knowledge of God and His truth (Romans 12, Philippians 2-3, Colossians 3, and Ephesians 3). My post concluded: If we who “know God” want to mature in our relationship with God, we will need to increase in our knowledge of God. In other words, the spiritually healthy life is one where a believer keeps growing in his or her knowing. The Pitfalls…
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Keep Growing in Your Knowing
Have you ever thought about what it really means to know? To know could refer to intellect. We can know information. To know could refer to recognition. We can know what is right, wrong, good, or bad. To know can contain a layer of influence. What we know affects our behavior. To know could refer to relationship. There are people we know, then, there are people we know. To know can refer to a degree of intimacy. It’s the type of knowing that produces confidence and safety through personal, up-close experience. When we stop to unpack what it really means to know, we notice the way its various meanings play…
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Encouragement: World Mental Health Day 2020
Did you know that today is World Mental Health Day? Everyone who struggles with their mental health has their own unique story. In fact, just today I had the privilege of getting a snapshot from a few different people… One person was diagnosed with clinical depression just this week. He mentioned that he didn’t even realize the way he’d slipped into survival mode until his doctor called it out. Another shared his struggle with bipolar disorder and revealed he recently came out of an episode. Another told of his ongoing battle with PTSD as the result of his years in combat. Yet another shared she’s starting therapy due to current…
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Stories of Black and White
I remember the first time a Black man walked through the doors of my childhood church. He walked in late…really late. Actually, the sermon started to wrap up by the time he took his seat in the very back. As he later explained, he had spent most of the service out front pacing. See, he was just passing through the area and was trying to decide if his desire to attend Bible Study that evening outweighed his fear of walking into an unfamiliar church in a predominantly White area. He just didn’t know what to expect or if his presence would be well-received. I couldn’t have been more than 10…
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I Can’t Parent Like That
My guess is we’re all getting a front row seat to our natural strengths and weaknesses in the way we parent these days. I know I am. After all, my rhythms have been turned on their head and my responsibilities multiplied. From the way I accomplish work to the way I connect with my family, I’m flexing myself into a new way of being alongside them. The process is hardly straight-forward and rightfully unique to each of our families. At the end of the day, however, we get to rest in the assurance that God knew just what He was doing when He made us parents. He knew where we’d…
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Who Are We When People Hurt?
“My bubbly, extroverted children have fallen into a low-grade depression.” “My special needs child is struggling to adjust to our new normal. It’s emotionally exhausting for everyone.” “My kids are having nightmares – no one is sleeping through the night.” “My surgery keeps being bumped back because it’s seen as ‘non-essential’.” “My job was furloughed, but I’m not sure if my company will even make it.” “My company reduced my hours, again. If this keeps happening, I will have no way of paying my bills.” “My aunt died yesterday.” “The doctor just called to tell us there is no possibility of my cousin surviving.” These are real-life stories I’ve heard…
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To Empower Women…
To empower women is to free women to interact with the world in the way they’re uniquely designed as individuals. It’s the welcoming of women to serve the people around them based on their God-given passions, gifts, and ambitions without reducing them to their femaleness. It’s valuing a woman’s humanity before her function. It’s the celebration of women as Image Bearers capable of succeeding within a variety of contexts based upon their individual strengths. It’s the pushing aside of personal lifestyle choices that attempt to dictate the way in which a woman operates within those various contexts. It’s the recognition that a community flourishes when every person gets to contribute…
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All Truth
The great thing about all truth being God’s truth is that we don’t have to shy away from resources. Yes, we need to exercise discernment. Yes, we need to weigh opinion against fact. Yes, we need to align with correctly interpreted Scripture. But, recognizing all truth as God’s truth frees us to see past our own circles of comfort and glean wisdom from the world around us. His truth isn’t bound within the walls of our “Christian” structures, books, or teachers. His scope is much broader. His truth is on exhibit in local schools, as children learn laws of gravity, apply scientific reasoning, and discover the workings of their world…
