Yes. I am about to talk about a Katy Perry song on a church blog. Turns out, the blue-haired, candy cane dress-wearin’, “popsicle”-melting pop artist has a spiritual life. And oddly enough (though I know we’ve lived very different lifestyles), I think we can relate to...
Hands & Knees Jesus
posted by kteckeberger
Have you ever been leaving the grocery store with a hefty sackful of goodies, praying it stays together just long enough for you to get to the car? But maybe it’s damp outside and your paper bag rips just enough so that your tender veggies and un-crunched bag of chips can no longer be saved. Or maybe the bag-boy with the un-finished high school education (God bless him) filled that thin, plastic sack to capacity and it just wouldn’t hold. I’ve been there! And of course, the groceries don’t spill out inconspicuously. It’s usually in the middle of the parking lot, where drivers must stop to wait on you, and...
Reporting Live
posted by Aaron Manes
I like to get up on Sunday morning’s and watch the political television shows. All cards on the table, I prefer “Meet The Press” to “This Week.” This past Sunday on “This Week” they wrapped the show with a Twitter q&a to the host. They asked him if he were to be offered...
Ashes In A Flash
posted by Bradford Pugh
Today is Ash Wednesday. [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3L3c23MfC0?rel=0] More than 70 Episcopal parishes in 18 states will bring Ash Wednesday to the streets, kicking off the Lenten season with a twist.They’ll offer the Christian sign of repentance — a smudged cross of ashes...
Wheelchair Man
posted by John Starnes
“The early church leaders described the Trinity … [as] an eternal dance of Father, Son, and Spirit sharing mutual love, honor, happiness, joy, and respect.” Brian D. McLaren – A Generous Orthodoxy Most prison chapels have center aisles. This one did. Sometimes the inmates sit around the sides and back. This time they packed the front first, which was encouraging. Last to come in was an elderly man bent over in a wheel chair. He positioned himself in the large center aisle right in front of me. The wheelchair didn’t bother me but the permanently etched scowl on his face did. He was just plain mean looking. ...
Dancing Naked Before...
posted by Bradford Pugh
Wednesday is the start of the Lenten Season. The tough part of Lent for some is the “giving something up” part. Today at GracePointe we heard that this season, we may see and hear some minimalist messages and worship. The intent is to turn our hearts and reflections toward the God...
Censoring Jesus
posted by Clint Ribble
It was beautiful, the ever-changing vistas, the cool breeze, the very unexpected sunshine. It was a place that was instantly recognized as sacred. A holy place, made all the more transcendent because of whom I experienced it with. It was Ireland, and we were on a four-course, five-day golf marathon. It was exhilaratingly brutal. I won’t forget when my brother stepped up to the tee-box and crushed the ball with a near-perfect slice that was caught by the wind, exacerbating the ball’s problematic trajectory. It was lost. A curse rang out. The phrase wasn’t lost in the breeze that took the ball. It was clear. My father looked...
To Follow
posted by Glenn Simmons
If I said to you, “follow me”, wouldn’t you think we were going somewhere, maybe the two of us journeying together? And if someone said ‘follow me”, wouldn’t we assume one person is a kind of guide, and maybe that person already knows the way and wants...
Crazy For God
posted by Aaron Manes
Dear Frank, In a conversation with a well-read friend of mine, he mentioned that I should read some of your books. I had a B&N gift card and was browsing the religion section looking for the sort of books that I typically read when I stumbled across your memoirs. Having grown up in a...
Holy as a Handshake
posted by Glenn Simmons
from Simple Truths “We may not all live holy lives, but we live in a world alive with holy moments.” This quote is from “Simple Truths” by author Kent Nerburn, writer of two of my “desert island” books, “Neither Wolf Nor Dog” and “The...
Sliding Doors
posted by Shari Lacy
One of the creepiest mistakes I ever made was getting off at the wrong subway stop, at the wrong time of day, while traveling by myself when I lived in New York City. I was making my way from Upstate NY where my husband (then boyfriend) attended college, to my home closer to the city and we...
Original Thought?
posted by Glenn Simmons
They speak of original sin. Perhaps there was an original thought too. Maybe the two are connected, I don’t know. I was thinking that, well for one, I don’t feel like I’ve ever had an original thought. They all seem to be built upon other thoughts of people I know or...
The Six-fingered Man
posted by Aaron Manes
The most famous swordfight I know about is Inigo Montoya and the six-fingered man in “The Princess Bride.” Remember how in the Baz Luhrmann remake of “Romeo and Juliet” the swords were guns? I always thought that was a cool twist. Swords don’t make much sense any more. Last...
Glimmer of Heaven
posted by Rachel Ribble
[amazon_enhanced asin="0849946158" /] Clint and I recently received the book Heaven is for Real as a thank you gift. I had never heard of the book before, even though it’s #1 on the NY Times bestseller list. I read books based on word of mouth or I stick to my favorite authors. And I...
Reading List: Fallin...
posted by Glenn Simmons
Ok, so maybe I shouldn’t be writing this post as I’m only half way through Richard Rohr’s new book “Falling Upward”, but that’s just how good it is ! Rohr doesn’t miss much and his books and teachings should be a part of anyone’s life and...
The Hippies
posted by Aaron Manes
You know whose fault this is? The Hippies. They decided that they didn’t have to do what their parents said and ultimately did something that was counter-cultural. They imagined a world that has changed the place of women, African-Americans, homosexuals, government responsibility,...
Fasting
posted by Steve Wyer
Four years ago, I lost a lot of weight. Our family was vacationing in northern Wisconsin and I brought several books to read; one was on fasting. We love Wisconsin even though it is a twenty-hour, two day drive each way. When we arrive we give ourselves permission to “unplug.” No TV,...
The Experience
posted by Glenn Simmons
Growing up in a traditional American, Southern, Christian culture, my way of relating to God, was through prayer, church attendance, listening to my elders and reading the Bible. Those were the paths of connection offered. That is how we showed love, gratitude and need, to and for God....
Moving Rocks
posted by Barbara Wyer
I’ve always wondered about that stoning thing in the Bible. I mean, how did it actually work? It doesn’t seem realistic that a person would just stand there and wait for the rocks to pummel them. Wouldn’t they try to run away? Would the stoners have to get a couple of big guys to hold...
Eternal Ideas
posted by Aaron Manes
I have lived a lot of my life on a face value level. I hope that if you know me personally you would see me live out what I profess as belief. I have always hoped this for other people also and honestly I have an expectation of it. This has caused me some pain over the years because I...