Does God Truly Redeem?

“Are you truly happy?” That was the question posed to me earlier this week in a conversation with a friend facing divorce after a decades-long marriage. It’s the fear of the unknown that creates so much anxiety, even when the marriage was unbelievably difficult, fraught with betrayal and pain of the deepest kind. Will I […]

The Theology of Forgiveness

Someone asked me this week how I ended up remarried after divorce in light of biblical teachings. My response started with Deuteronomy 24 where Moses specifically allowed divorce so that women could remarry. I went on to Malachi 2 where God talks about the cruelty of men to their wives which ultimately leads to divorce, another time […]

What Do You Need?

This weekend, I was looking at what seems to be a never-ending to-do list. As we discussed how exhausted we were from a late night attending Cassie’s latest performance, I made the statement that I what I want to do seems to be different from what I need to do. And then I immediately stopped. […]

Marked by God

This week, I was listening to a sermon about belonging. Belonging to God. Belonging to a fellowship of believers. The pastor used the movie Toy Story to illustrate his point. Do you remember how Andy wrote his name on the bottom of Woody’s shows, marking him as belonging to Andy? No one could deny that Woody […]

The Lion of Judah

Have you ever been baffled by something you read in scripture? It actually happens to me frequently, but I always find myself wondering why God chose to bring Jesus through the lineage of Judah. Jesus is known as the Lion of Judah. Why not the Lion of Joseph? After all, Israel (Jacob) had eleven other […]

From Mess to Message

I was confronted again this week: Why do you continue to write about divorce? Why do you allow your past divorce to color your world today? Why do you allow what your ex-husband did to you to continue to affect your relationships today? I’ve heard it many, many times. I need to leave the adultery, […]

When Bitterness Leads to Death

I have been reading through the Bible chronologically, and I recently found myself reading through the book of Esther while I also listened to a sermon series about about the same book. I guess you could call it a true immersion. (On a side note, I am also super excited to go see Esther come […]

A Letter to the Spouse Who Had an Affair

Dear spouse, I want you to know how much I love you and how much I want to see God work in our lives and in our relationship. When I married you, I made a covenant before God and man–a covenant of until death do we part. And my heart has not changed. However, you […]

To My Son on Your Wedding Day

Oh, my sweet Blake! How can it be that you are now a newlywed? It seems like it was only yesterday that you were that precious little 6 lb 12 oz preemie that surprised us a month early. Now, here you stand before me, towering over us all, a man instead of a precious baby. […]

Did Jesus Die for the Narcissist?

Tomorrow is Good Friday, and Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection are on my mind–as they should be. For some reason, my mind has been asking if Jesus died for the narcissist. Let me start by saying the term narcissist has become a choice description for anyone who is self-centered. I think we have to be […]