Someone asked me again recently how I became deaf. I always feel slightly awkward answering the question because the answer is complicated. Also, how do I speak of such a traumatic thing so casually, as if I'm discussing the weather? The short version of the story is that I was born completely deaf in one …
Category: Hearing God
Thoughts about deconstruction
Joshua Harris, the hugely successful author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye, shook the evangelical world a few weeks ago when he announced he was deconstructing and leaving the Christian faith. Listening to the conversations regarding Harris (and others), I've realized that many people have misconceptions of what deconstruction actually is and how it fits into a …
Why I don’t teach my children unquestioning obedience, Part 2 of 2
Mostly I avoid getting involved in discussions about parenting, because opinions are a dime a dozen although dearly held and too often used to hurt people. Parenting is the hardest job I've ever done, and one that unfortunately receives more judgment than grace from many. However, recently a friend emailed me about a child-training boot-camp …
Continue reading Why I don’t teach my children unquestioning obedience, Part 2 of 2
Why I don’t teach my children unquestioning obedience, Part 1 of 2
As a teenager, I worked in an upscale nursing home. The facilities were modern, the work-load reasonable, and the patient care was excellent. I felt lucky to work in such a clean and well-run place. Yet my time there was marked by a very dark spot. One of my residents was a sweet elderly lady …
Continue reading Why I don’t teach my children unquestioning obedience, Part 1 of 2
Not to Condemn
My stomach growled with hunger and my feet hurt from a busy twelve-hour shift, but I resisted the urge to go home and collapse. Instead I crept into the soft glow of the sanctuary at the Methodist church a few blocks from work. It was Ash Wednesday, and I remembered how the service last year …
Wandering in the Wilderness
I have always viewed a spiritual wilderness as a blessing in disguise; an intensely painful and lonely place, yes, but a good place.The wilderness is a place or season in our lives where God strips away what is precious to us so that we are able to hear Him. Many times in the Bible, God …
What No One Ever Told Me About The Foster System
Joel Horst: I’m thrilled to share a guest post from a friend who works in the foster care system in another state. Having heard story after heartrending story, stories I had never realized were part of everyday life for some kids, I offered to host a guest post if my friend wanted to write one. …
Continue reading What No One Ever Told Me About The Foster System
Hearing the Voice of Jesus, by Ryan McKelvey
“Lord, to whom else would we go? You have the words that give eternal life.” (John 6:68) We were halfway through our four-day backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail. We were long past the beauty of the Potomac River, but too far from civilization or the promise of pizza to quicken our steps. It was …
Continue reading Hearing the Voice of Jesus, by Ryan McKelvey
God speaks through a parking lot
Some say that God's voice always results on us falling on our faces with the force of His glory; that if we doubt it is His voice, we haven't heard Him. And they have a point--the awesome presence of God is capable of melting us in an instance. I have felt that force. But I …
Our best effort is indirect
Our small group sat around the polished wood table, eating Subway sandwiches and kettle-cooked chips off paper plates. Licking up the last crumbs, the little children hopped off their chairs and ran to the kitchen to claim an ice cream cone. While ice cream dripped and children wiggled in their seats, Will turned the conversation …
