The Shedding of the Skin My husband and I always spend Christmas Day at home, but then in the days following Christmas we travel down to Florida to see my immediate family. We have a lot of rhythms and rituals to our annual trip, including listening to audiobooks while we’re on the road. We’re working our way through the Chronicles of Narnia, and we listened to the Voyage of the Dawn of Treader on this most recent trip. The Dawn... Read more
And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowly state of his servant. Surely from now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name; indeed, his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in... Read more
The Spiritual Value of Longing A friend told me recently that digestion has multiple stages, and it does not begin after we swallow our food. The whole event begins before we even put the food in our mouths, when allow ourselves to salivate. The process of preparing food and setting the table prepares our bodies to receive. Anticipation and longing are necessary parts of the process of being fed. During the season of Advent, what are some of the ways... Read more
Spiritual Endurance in The Wild Robot The phrase “spiritual endurance” came to me as I was reflecting on two 2024 films this week. I recently took a group of young families to see the film, “The Wild Robot”, based on a book series written by Peter Brown. It’s one of those films that’s partly for kids, but mostly for moms as we see a task-oriented robot learn authenticity through loving a child. One aspect of the film is the robot... Read more
Outward Signs In the lectionary reading this past Sunday, Jesus passed blind Bartimaeus on the road. Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Mark 10:51 As I pass dozens of political signs on the road, I feel led to pray for this election. What if Jesus passed by those same signs and asked us, “What do you want me to do... Read more
A Model of Discipleship The Gospels show us a model of discipleship that involves three primary action steps: receiving, responding, and resting. At first, the disciples are simply people who are listening to Jesus. They are learning and receiving from him. Then he entrusts them to go out teaching and serving on their own. After this, he teaches them how to rest and recover in the same way that he does. This process of learning and growing is for the... Read more
Creating Images of Separation and Connection One of my first classes at George Fox Evangelical Seminary was called “Knowing Self Knowing God”. We discussed the idea that while we respond to the reality of our situation, we also respond to our understanding of reality. I don’t just interact with you as you are, I also interact with the image of you I have created in my mind. This image gathers data from you, and includes my own history, assumptions, and... Read more
Who Will Roll Away the Stone? When the sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. They had been saying to one another, ‘Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?’ When they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was... Read more
Love Is the Model The Rule of Life is a supportive resource that can enrich, challenge, and renew our rhythm of being. It originated with St. Benedict, an Italian monk who both founded monasteries and wrote the Rule of Monasteries in 529AD. This Rule was meant for the shared life of monks, but the concept has been adapted for individuals by many organizations. This model from the Gospel Coalition teaches a Rule of Life stemming from our relationship to God,... Read more
Pioneers In Ordination February is Black History Month, and it’s a wonderful time to celebrate the legacy of Absalom Jones. Absalom Jones was born into slavery, but he taught himself to read using the New Testament. He saved up enough money to purchase the freedom of his wife and children, and then purchased his own freedom. Jones became a lay minister for the African-American parishioners at St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. He ran this ministry alongside his friend... Read more
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