The profound connection between suffering and glory: Dane Ortlund concludes, “Our scars here will be beauty marks there. The uglier the scarring, the brighter the beauty.”
The four horsemen of the apocalypse (re: marital communication): “Decades of Gottman research has demonstrated four destructive communication patterns that can signal relationship breakdown if left unchecked.”
In the ancient myth, the hunter Narcissus was acclaimed for his beauty. Many sought Narcissus romantically, but he spurned them all. One day on a hunt, Narcissus paused to rest by a pool of water; stooping for a drink, he caught sight of his own reflection. He fell in love with his reflection and stayed by the pool, staring at himself for the rest of his life.
The American Psychiatric Association defines narcissistic personality disorder as, “a pattern of need for admiration and lack of empathy for others. A person with narcissistic personality disorder may have a grandiose sense of self-importance,
If you lived in Western New York in the early 1800s, you had a front-row seat to one of the most exciting times and places in US history. The Erie Canal opened in 1825, and with its opening came a flood of commerce and people. Towns popped up and with the people came temptation. Stephen Nichols describes the spiritual mood, “Revivalist preachers set up their tents and, with impassioned pleas, called for revival and repentance.” Those pleas were often tied to fervent appeals tied to the return of Jesus.
Because of the great response to these revivals, upper New York was dubbed the Burned-Over District.
You are no longer invited to dinner: Derek Thompson shares some sad news, “In the last 30 years, Americans have seen double-digit declines in practically every measure of socializing. They are less likely to play cards; attend a sporting event; go to the bar; volunteer; or work on a community project. When it comes to hosting people at home, the declines are particularly stark. Since 1995, the share of Americans who say they’ve hosted guests or attended a dinner party has declined by about 20 percent
“I want to forgive him, but how do I forgive someone who died years ago?”
“I want to forgive her, but I don’t have any way to contact her.”
Do you have someone in your life that you want to forgive, but you don’t know how to because they are no longer in your life or perhaps they have passed away? How do you respond?
The misunderstanding.
Sometimes we confuse or conflate forgiveness and reconciliation. Forgiveness is releasing someone of a debt that is owed to us (see the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matt 18:23-35).
The profound connection between suffering and glory: Dane Ortlund concludes, “Our scars here will be beauty marks there. The uglier the scarring, the brighter the beauty.”
The four horsemen of the apocalypse (re: marital communication): “Decades of Gottman research has demonstrated four destructive communication patterns that can signal relationship breakdown if left unchecked.”
In the ancient myth, the hunter Narcissus was acclaimed for his beauty. Many sought Narcissus romantically, but he spurned them all. One day on a hunt, Narcissus paused to rest by a pool of water; stooping for a drink, he caught sight of his own reflection. He fell in love with his reflection and stayed by the pool, staring at himself for the rest of his life.
The American Psychiatric Association defines narcissistic personality disorder as, “a pattern of need for admiration and lack of empathy for others. A person with narcissistic personality disorder may have a grandiose sense of self-importance,
If you lived in Western New York in the early 1800s, you had a front-row seat to one of the most exciting times and places in US history. The Erie Canal opened in 1825, and with its opening came a flood of commerce and people. Towns popped up and with the people came temptation. Stephen Nichols describes the spiritual mood, “Revivalist preachers set up their tents and, with impassioned pleas, called for revival and repentance.” Those pleas were often tied to fervent appeals tied to the return of Jesus.
Because of the great response to these revivals, upper New York was dubbed the Burned-Over District.
You are no longer invited to dinner: Derek Thompson shares some sad news, “In the last 30 years, Americans have seen double-digit declines in practically every measure of socializing. They are less likely to play cards; attend a sporting event; go to the bar; volunteer; or work on a community project. When it comes to hosting people at home, the declines are particularly stark. Since 1995, the share of Americans who say they’ve hosted guests or attended a dinner party has declined by about 20 percent
“I want to forgive him, but how do I forgive someone who died years ago?”
“I want to forgive her, but I don’t have any way to contact her.”
Do you have someone in your life that you want to forgive, but you don’t know how to because they are no longer in your life or perhaps they have passed away? How do you respond?
The misunderstanding.
Sometimes we confuse or conflate forgiveness and reconciliation. Forgiveness is releasing someone of a debt that is owed to us (see the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matt 18:23-35).
I have called you friends: Alastair Roberts says, “Jesus came to make us friends of God, people with the same standing with God that our father Abraham had. As friends of God, we enjoy an intimacy with God and a participation in his work quite exceeding that of servants.”
What draws me back? Three arguments for the faith on the days I doubt: Trevin Wax says, “The reason the problem of evil delivers such an emotional wallop for me is because of the bigger problem of good—the gratuitousness of beauty and goodness in our world, and the consequent ache in our hearts
We stepped into the candy shop and could feel it immediately. We were welcome here. And no, it wasn’t just the aroma of chocolate wafting through the air (although that helped!). It was in the kind eyes of the shop owner, in the smile of her employee as she swept the floor. The sign outside said the shop closed five minutes earlier. “Are you sure it’s okay we come in?” I cautiously asked. “Of course!” she said. And I could feel that she meant it.
The atmosphere in her candy shop stood in stark contrast to the cold, unwelcoming atmosphere of several other shops we had visited
The Chocolate Lady: Andrea Sanborn shares, “Parents of people with disabilities long for our children to be welcomed and included. Any effort in that direction can quite literally bring us to tears. But those of us who parent the socially challenging ones are especially moved when a person makes a concerted effort to befriend our children. Most people, understandably, back off when they’re rebuffed. But a precious few strive to understand and are willing to persevere to befriend our children in spite of their behavior.”
Learning from King David’s midlife failure: Jim Newheiser says,
How loud are the voices of scoffers in your life? The mockers, the angry, the rude, the crass. How much ear do you give to those who tear you down rather than gently exhort or build you up?
Ours is the age of the scoffer. Election season magnifies the scorn that lies just beneath the surface. TikTok, X, YouTube, and Facebook serve our prurient interest in watching others be “slammed,” “knocked down,” and “exposed.” The equation seems simple: the harsher the persona, the more views.
The longest book of the Bible, the songbook of the people of God,
Suffer and do not sin: Andrea Mathews says, “Our suffering has stretched us. It has caused us to cling to Christ. It has brought us a deeper awareness of our dependency on God and dismantled the illusion of control we once thought we had over our lives. But suffering also has brought a particular array of temptations to sin, and I have often succumbed.
How does wonder lead us to worship and wisdom? Eric Lynum says, “To wonder, in the biblical sense, is to think about God doing what only God can do. We sense the magnitude of his creativity as we stand beneath a canopy of trees,
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