Relationships

Guide to Imperfect Parenting

Parenting, for me, is complicated by two races, two cultures, one step kid, two adopted foster kids, two birth kids…and a partridge in a pear tree. Modern blended and mixed families like mine know that all too often conventional parenting wisdom just doesn’t apply to our complicated real-world situations. Honestly, I’ve found that that most “Parenting 101” adages fit just about as well as my pre-pregnancy jeans. You see, as a white mom with a black husband, raising four bi-racial children and one black child, I’ve been misunderstood and gotten some downright dirty looks. Adopting foster children has had unexpected challenges […]

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The Gospel of Grace

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed his “Ninety-five Theses” to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. Risking ostracism and excommunication, and later narrowly avoiding execution as a heretic, Luther took a stand against the rampant abuses taking place at the hands of the church of his day; villainous actions based upon a vast departure from the unchanging truths of God’s written Word. At the time, Luther could have no indication of the world-changing implications his single act of public protest would have. The Ninety-five Theses were the spark that ignited the raging fire we now know […]

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Anger Games

Anger – just the word itself invokes a vision of red, an increased heartbeat,  sweaty palms and a racing mind. One medical website describes anger this way: “Anger is a very powerful emotion that can stem from feelings of frustration, hurt, annoyance or disappointment. It is a normal human emotion that can range from slight irritation to strong rage.” As I contemplate the word, I am rehearsing various conversations and situations from my past. I have been angry at a chair as I walked by and stubbed my toe.  I have cursed cars that cut me off in traffic. I […]

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Bible Mythbusters

When it comes to true, authentic, biblical Christianity, sadly there are many who do not have an accurate concept of what that is. Misinformation they’ve picked up along the way, past wounds suffered at the hands of those who called themselves Christians, or simply a wrong view of God cause many people to have dangerous misconceptions about what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Sometimes even more damaging are those who do come to saving faith and then enter into their walk with Christ not truly grasping important Bible-based truths about the nature of God, the power of […]

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How Holy Are You?

If you are anything like me, you struggle with holy living. If you are not anything like me, please let me know how you are doing it! As a minister of the Gospel, the reason I don’t mind confessing that I am far less than perfect is because another minister of the Gospel, who was far, far more sanctified than I, confessed the very same thing.  Here the Apostle Paul sets forth the ongoing experience of every Christian: “I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate […]

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Do’s and Don’ts of Giving With the Gospel

I saw him all alone by the payphone, pacing back and forth and noticeably upset. I glanced over at him several times as I pumped my gas and noticed what looked like blood on his forehead. He obviously needed help, but whose help? Mine? What could I do? I had a decision to make. Would I drive away and just pray for someone to come by that could help? Or would I walk over and seek to be that someone? I remember praying something like, “God, if you can use me, use me,” and I walked over to him. But […]

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Pornified America

It is not secret that evil abounds in our world today. We turn on our televisions and are bombarded with news of killings, shootings and stabbings. For those of us that live in suburbia, we can rationalize that we have deliberately chosen a safe neighborhood in which to raise our family. We try to minimize the horror, but we can’t. We live in a fallen world. There is no such thing as a little killing. You either kill or you don’t, and yet our society wants to justify that a little pornography is ok. They call it “soft porn.” It’s […]

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That Isn’t Fair

Have you ever said or thought, “That just isn’t fair!” in the context of one of your relationships? It could have been with your parents, your siblings or your mate, but most of us have been there at some point in a relationship. We feel the division of labor in the home is not fair, or that the focus is always on their needs, but never on our own. Perhaps things have turned abusive and the feeling is, “I don’t deserve to be treated this way.” Where does this sense of fairness or justice spring from in regards to the […]

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Revealing the Racist Within

Forty-nine years ago, in April of 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr. was imprisoned for his participation in civil rights demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama. He was peacefully protesting segregation and, in doing so, he was violating a court ordinance against such demonstrations. In the tension surrounding these protests, a group of eight white clergymen had issued a public statement questioning the timing and methods King was employing. King penned a 21-page response while in prison that has come to be known as the “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” now considered a classic in civil rights literature. It is disturbing to read, particularly as […]

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Want To Be A Good Christian?

I have had a few conversations recently with friends and co-workers on the subject of mentoring and discipleship.  Quite honestly, those two words make me a bit nervous.  Frankly, they conjure up images of two people sitting at a table, one with a Bible staring intently into the face of the person without the Bible. The all-knowing mentor proceeds to tell the unsuspecting disciple all the things necessary for living the Christian life. Have you experienced this for yourself on one side or the other?  I have, and I cringe when I recall the uncomfortable and ridiculous task of mentoring […]

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