With my daughter home from college and temps rising, I am ready for summer. Maybe you’re getting there, too? There’s nothing like a good book by the pool (or ocean!) to make a perfect summer day.
Christian Living, Family, Leadership, Marriage, Wisdom
Everyone loves a great reveal.
If you saw it, you likely haven’t forgotten the penultimate scene in The Sixth Sense, when everything you thought you understood was suddenly turned upside down. Or the final scene in The Usual Suspects, when the mystery of Keyser Soze turns out to be right in front of you the whole time.
Genesis 3 contains one of the most devastating reveals in all of Scripture. As the passage unfolds, Moses forces us to reread the whole scene with new eyes.
The scene opens with the serpent: “Now the serpent was more crafty…”
Recommendations, Culture, Leadership, Relationships, Wisdom
Should Christians flip tables like Jesus? Alan Noble concludes, “Scripture intentionally emphasizes humility and servanthood over anger and strong language. We should do likewise. We must follow Jesus knowing his actions are different from our own. We do not need to imitate his every act to be his faithful follower.”
Burnout looks different across the org chart: watch for these signs: Daisy Auger-Dominguez begins, “Workplace burnout is often discussed as if it were a single condition with a single solution: fewer hours, better boundaries, more resilience. That framing is incomplete and misleading.”
Consumerism, Culture, Gratitude, Identity, Spiritual Growth, Wisdom
Who is the person you compare yourself to most often? Perhaps it is a family member, friend or a co-worker, perhaps it is even a celebrity.
We human beings are comparison machines. We’re constantly evaluating the stimuli around us. Social media has exacerbated the issue, giving us instant access into the highlight reels of thousands of friends and celebrities. Psychology Today reports that, “According to some studies, as much as 10 percent of our thoughts involve comparisons of some kind.” Friend, this kind of toxic comparison is harmful.
Much has been written on the threat of comparison
Recommendations, Christian Living, Culture, Finance
Jesus is awkwardly exclusive, radically inclusive, and stubbornly objective: Rebecca McLaughlin says, “Jesus never ruled an empire, raised an army, or even wrote a book. Most of his followers were poor. They weren’t the power brokers of their day. And yet, the Christian movement spread like wildfire after Jesus’s death, and it’s been growing ever since.”
It’s not about you: Laura Story says, “We have to admit that oftentimes our spiritual lives tend to be self-centered rather than God-centered… If God answered every one of your prayers, would it change the world or simply change your world?”
Biblical Studies, Leadership, Worship
We’ve all had moments in our lives where it seemed like all hope was lost. I remember sitting at my desk in high school, staring at an AP Chemistry test that might as well have been written in Latin. I felt so doomed. My mind spun. I was going to fail this test. I was going to fail the class. Would I have to take summer school? Would I be able to get into my dream college? I catastrophized one test, thinking it would determine the trajectory of my future years.
We’ve all experienced failure and hopelessness: the creeping dread of loss.
