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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…
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Fostering Friendships
“You’re the only one that really knows me here.” At this point, she had already been attending our church for nearly two years. She even followed through by participating in a Sunday morning small group that met weekly. “I don’t usually share my story with everyone I meet; but, you’re really the only one that’s ever even asked anything about me. People have said ‘hi,’ they’ve smiled, told me it was nice to see me. But that’s where it has stopped.” I felt personally touched by her honesty but remained inwardly broken for her lack of genuine community. Broken because I knew she hadn’t entirely sat on the fence…
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Progress not Perfection
Recently, one of our kids ended a semi-lengthy hiatus from a treasured gaming device. Our original decision to take a break from the device was an attempt at creatively dealing with this child’s struggle to obey with a good attitude...
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Brokenness: Our Worth In Christ
The reality of our brokenness can quickly become a point of overwhelming discouragement. If we are not careful, we approach our failures as a mere means to gauge our own self-worth and allow it to dictate our identity...
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