Learning to love others the way Jesus loves us
Defaulting to Grace is going to be a book! To celebrate, I've decided to share bonus content to subscribers only. You may already follow me through WordPress, but I invite you to subscribe (free), too. As a subscriber, you'll be first to know about the publication process and timeline along with some sneak peeks at… Continue reading Subscribe for bonus content
THE POWER OF A WORD “I have seen the Lord!” Can you imagine? Mary from Magdala watched him die a violent and tortuous death. He was dead. She saw his last breath. She witnessed his battered, broken, bloody body removed from the hateful cross. She followed the men who buried him so she would know… Continue reading I have seen the Lord
"Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near" (Hebrews 10:24-25). The COVID-19 pandemic added to a building cultural sense that regular church attendance… Continue reading Going missing
Why does God allow suffering? Certainly He could have created everyone to be good and moral and kind. But doing so would mean humans would have no free will or independent spirits. If people are allowed choices, there will always be consequences. And humans don’t like to feel conformed to or constrained by another. In… Continue reading Someday we will see the “why”
The silence of God also does not mean the inactivity of God. (Twitter post, @songgirl127, April 16 2022) How long, O Lord? It was the cry of the prophets from Moses to Malachi. It was the cry of the early church under persecution. And it is the cry of many today in the face of… Continue reading When God seems silent
There is a tree on one of my running paths that I just love. A large branch covers the boardwalk and every year it gets just a little lower, a little heavier, and a little broader. I have dozens of pictures as the tree transforms through all four seasons. It is a little different every… Continue reading The Transformational nature of grace
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through… Continue reading Love, grace, and testimony
For at least the last decade I have chosen a word for the year. I have various blog posts written for each one since 2011--except for 2019, and I suspect that one was something about completion or finishing strong since I was at the end of my PhD journey. 2020's word was wait. And did… Continue reading Today.
Christmas is just days away; the season of expectant waiting is coming to an end for this year. The culmination of Advent, the Incarnation of God into human form, bursts forth in songs of wonder, adoration, and joy. The first coming of Jesus we celebrate with gifts, food, and family visits that include a trip… Continue reading Still, Advent
Thoughts about Advent and Incarnation Part one The coming of the Promise. Fulfillment of prophecy in a mystery of yes and not yet. A baby born of a virgin on a not-so-silent night who grew up and changed the world, even to the marking of the calendar days. BC (before Christ) and AD (anno Domini)… Continue reading The Greatest Grace
Defaulting to Grace 