Soap Box

Being a Christian doesn’t make me any less human than the next person. I still need grace, as much as the next person. In fact, being a Christian is an outright admission that I’m in need of grace, not a cry that I’m without flaws.
I think that sometimes people are quick to judge every little sin a Christian commits, and thus cast them off as hypocrites. Sadly, then, many people throw the baby out with the bath water.
“That Christian is judgmental!  Christianity is a farce!”
“That church was run by corrupt people.  No church is trustworthy or good!”
“Look how selfish and self-righteous that Christian is!  All Christians are hypocrites!!  Jesus must NOT be the way!”
Please don’t mis-read what I am trying to say. 
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"Try Me"

I have really been dealing lately with pressing into more of what the Lord has for me.  Of learning more about what my purpose is.  Of what my mission is.
I went to a conference today (Compassion in Action) that only drove that desire deeper.  I totally felt the Holy Spirit moving in my heart, and I found myself all weepy, which I did NOT expect.  But, I was moved to answer an altar call to just go up and meet God and get the answers to precisely where He is calling me.  So, you can imagine my surprise when I got to the altar, and all I heard was….
SILENCE.
Not a word.
NOTHING.
I covered my ears to drown out the prayers and worship I heard going on all around me, but it didn’t help.
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Identity Crisis

I’ve had a message stirring in my heart lately about my identity.  See, I’ve begun realizing how many things in my life have the potential to take precedence over my identity in Christ.  Here on this earth, we have careers, and spouses, and children, and hobbies, and so many roles that we play.  If we aren’t careful, it is easy to begin to find our identity in those things, rather than finding our identity in Jesus, and letting our “sub-identities” (for lack of a better descriptor) be an outcropping of our true identity.
Here’s the thing.  No matter how great we are at any one role, no matter how strong our marriage is, or how great of a musician, or how successful of an athlete, or how enviable of a parent we are, every single one of those things can be shaken!  
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