Category: Loving Others
-
Give Me Good News
“I have good news,” I mumbled to my husband through a sore throat and congestion. “Give me good news,” was what he heard. It was a random Monday afternoon. We laughed. And then we thought about it. Is asking a fellow believer to give you good news such a strange request? We are to… These…
-
Love Isn’t a Feeling, But We Feel It
Love isn’t a feeling, but we feel it. Sometimes with a smile, a blush, and a racing heart. Sometimes with a tear as we grieve a loved one’s death. We feel it beyond the milestone moments, mindlessly saying it back to the person we just feel so comfortable with we’ve lost track of the weight…
-
Take It Personally
I’d been reading through John 11 slowly each morning, following the story of Lazarus’ sickness, Jesus’ delay, and then His encounters with Martha and with Mary after Lazarus lay dead. It’s a story I’ve read many times, mostly just noting quickly that Jesus is incredible and death is awful before moving along. But this time,…
-
Who You Work For
“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.” Colossians 3:23 (NLT) A faded blue post-it on my desk reads: No changes. Well done. Brilliant. Not bad. Good job. This mini-rubric helps me rank the quality of what I do as I receive others’ feedback. It’s…
-
Are You Acting Like a Wolf?
One of the questions we often ask when reading Scripture is “how does this apply?” We’re usually thinking in terms of what the Word means for our lives or what promises it holds. Sometimes we ask how it might comfort or exhort us. Scripture can also warn us about our own nature. Do you know…
-
To The “Criers”
If you’re the sort who carries tissues in your purse and says, “sorry, I’m a crier,” in Bible studies and on coffee dates, you probably make me a little uncomfortable. That makes me doubly thankful for you. People like me, whose husbands say “you are?” and squint when we admit we’re crying, need you. We…
-
The Best Kind of Heartbreak
I’ve got this big magenta duffel bag. It’s sewn up along the edges, almost as crisscrossed and haphazard as the trips it’s been on. The frayed lining is only slightly attached to the outer layer anymore. You can see all the places it’s worn thin and stretched permanently from being stuffed too full all the…
-
A Testimony to God’s Faithfulness and Thank You to YOU
Do you know the old hymn “Up from Grave He Arose?” It’s one of my favorites, and when I am bursting with excitement and praise, I pump my arms and sing it loudly off-key. There has been much occasion for this silly display recently, even in the midst of the pandemic. A Call to Pray…
-
Lessons on Assumption
During college, I took a course on intercultural competency. The main point of the course was when we first encounter a new culture, we should recognize our own incompetency. The most important skill to master? Don’t make assumptions. Incidentally, a mortifying misunderstanding in the class drove this home most powerfully. Assumption #1 Our professor was…
-
Who (Isn’t) My Neighbor?
Love. That’s the spirit of God’s law. Jesus made it clear, even saying that “loving others” is the second greatest command. When talking with Jesus about the command, an expert in the law asked “but who is my neighbor?”* The question- and Jesus’ answer of the parable of the good Samaritan- are often talked about…