Reading comprehension never was my strong point—I remember struggling with it in school, and it’s still not my forte. Don’t get me wrong. I love to read, but I can go for paragraphs—maybe even pages— before realizing I have no clue what I just read (or, I confess, re-read). So it only slightly surprised me that I came across something in Scripture recently that I don’t recall ever reading (or re-reading, or re-re-reading for that…
I really dislike allegories. If you have something to say, just say it. No need to create characters to illustrate larger moral truths. I admit – I don’t even like Pilgrim’s Progress (with deepest apologies to Mr. Bunyan, whom I greatly admire). Then again, I also dislike poetry and flowers (except tulips!), so I’m not saying my opinion demands emulation. But that said, I finally read Hind’s Feet on High Places (on what I believe was…
I was thinking this morning about Colossians 3:15: “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts….” The phrase “let…rule” is from the Greek word brabeuo, which means to arbitrate, to govern, or figuratively, to prevail. This word appears only one time in Scripture. Its root is from the same as brabeion, another Greek word which means an umpire, or an award, as in a prize given in public games. I love the way the Amplified version…
Last night, I was thinking about one of my favorite lines in a worship song from back in 2007: “When You stand, the tall trees and mountains bow. When You speak, the fiercest of oceans is still.” It’s easy to sing this line and just gloss over it, but when you stop to think about it—wow. Let me just say mountains don’t bow down because of Gina, and while I’ve run terrified from the ocean…
This blog is not at all intended to become my personal health update! But I always try to discover truth and identify things that God may be wanting to show me in the midst of pain. It’s now been about four and a half months since “the injury” that’s caused seemingly continual hip pain over the last several months and largely sidelined me from my all-time favorite activity: running. It’s very weird not doing something you’ve…
I’ve been reading about the life of Joseph lately. It’s always been one of my favorite accounts in Scripture, as it’s such an amazing example of God’s faithfulness over long periods of time during which circumstances often suggest He is not faithful. Just recently, Genesis 49:23-24 jumped out at me. In this chapter, Jacob has called his sons around him and is blessing them one by one. When he gets to Joseph, this is part of…
Had someone told me 10 weeks (and five days, but who’s counting) ago that a ‘small’ muscle injury would still be causing pain and limiting my ability to do my favorite activity (running) today, I wouldn’t have believed it. Or, If I did, I would have become really (really) angry, frustrated, you name it. Granted, I have been pretty angry and frustrated over the last many weeks anyway, but sometimes it’s a good thing that…
Have you ever been stuck driving behind the same random car for miles? You’re heading in the same direction, and maybe even to neighboring locations. But ultimately, you’re not wholeheartedly following that car, because when that driver breaks off to his destination, you continue to yours. Just as it’s impossible for us to follow someone or something accidentally—without a determined focus—for too long a period of time, it’s impossible for us to follow Christ without…
Lately, I haven’t been much fun to be around. I’ve been mostly sidelined from running—my favorite activity—for a couple weeks due to a minor injury that’s tempted me to be grouchy, irritable, and just generally miserable (and I confess I’ve given in). I’m fighting off the remnants of a weird reaction on my face that’s left me with swollen eyelids (a lovely sight to behold I’m sure—aren’t you all glad you know?). And I’ve been…
I just returned from a wonderful trip to Austria with a dear friend. Traveling from city to town, we visited majestic churches, soaked in stunning landscapes, and met some beautiful people. While exploring Vienna, we found our way to Votivkirche (pictured), a neo-gothic cathedral built in the latter half of the 19th century. Granted, by European standards, this is quite new as several of the churches we saw had been standing for multiple centuries. Still,…