Spiritual Formation: Theology & Spiritual Issues
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Where's God in My Loneliness?
It was one month to the day after my six-month-old daughter, Hope, had died of a rare metabolic disorder. Heading out alone on a business trip, I thought getting away and being busy might actually alleviate my grief. But instead, sadness traveled with me. That night in my hotel room, I desperately wanted someone to remember Hope with me.
I did what most people do when they feel lonely—I reached ...
Related Topics: Loneliness, Trusting God
Out of Darkness
It's one of the most surprising conversions to Christianity in recent times. No one expected vampire novelist Anne Rice, whose 26 supernatural thrillers, historical novels, and erotica books have sold more than 75 million copies, to darken the door of a church, much less write about Jesus.
Rice, born in 1941 with the unlikely name of Howard Allen O'Brien (after her father), was raised as a devout Catholic, ...
Related Topics: Creativity, Culture, Current Events, Imagination
'My Name Is Snake'
"My name is Snake," the young man growled when I called him into my office. His appearance certainly did justice to the nickname. He had a mass of black hair hanging to his shoulders, metal studs in his eyebrows, and rattlesnake tattoos slithering up his forearms. He was wearing ripped jeans and chunky motorcycle boots, and on his black T-shirt was a grisly skull with rattlers poised to strike from ...
Related Topics: Acceptance, Judging others, unconditional love
Great Question: When is it okay to leave a church?
When is it okay, even healthy, to leave a church? I'm struggling at my church, but I've attended it for a long time and feel guilty about possibly looking for another congregation.
I applaud you for even pondering this question. All too often God's people switch loyalties from one church to another with the same amount of deliberation they give to what kind of fast food they'll eat for lunch! Yet choosing ...
Related Topics: Changing Churches, Church involvement, Church Search, Cliques
What I'm Learning About ... Resting in God
Does God wish I'd get sick too? I thought as I held my daughter.
Jaana has never been a clingy child. Even as an infant, she didn't like to be held a lot. She loved her crib and her personal space. She doesn't snuggle much; she won't fall asleep on my shoulder when I hold her. It's just not who she is. As much as I've hated that, I've come to accept her for her, and absorb those clingy moments when ...
Related Topics: Comfort, Comfort, God's, God's Love, rest
Surviving Stuck
"Shoot," I said under my breath as I slid my daughter off my hip, jiggled the fishing pole into a better position, and maneuvered the stroller out of the way. I gave the bathroom door another hard shove with my shoulder. Nothing. "What a perfect end to this summer," I huffed. "Babygirl, looks like we're stuck in the loo."
My three-year-old daughter, Greta, looked up at me with a bit of panic, and my ...
Kyria Talks to Margaret Feinberg
Margaret Feinberg didn't set out to become a Christian communicator. At age 18 she wanted to go to Georgetown University and study pre-law and public relations, but she didn't get in. Instead she attended Wake Forest University in North Carolina, the first of many God-driven course corrections in Margaret's life.
Margaret embarked on a journey that led her to graduate with a religion major, try ...
'Yife's Not Fair!'
My son, Jordan, loves to yell, "It's not fair!" in response to every minor infraction. If his remote control car stalls, "It's not fair!" If I tell him he can't eat a bowl of marshmallows for breakfast, "It's not fair!" Even when his favorite 30-minute cartoon ends right on time, "It's not fair!"
Not long ago, I felt bombarded by unfair circumstances. I strained to recall a fair and peaceful time in ...
Related Topics: Change, parenting, Tough Times
God Has a Sense of Humor
How can we his creatures think things are funny unless the whole idea came from God in the first place? I've never heard a sermon about God's sense of humor. Nor have I read a theology book that lists God's laughter as one of his immutable characteristics. But I think it is. And unless we see that side of God, I'm not sure we'll totally appreciate him.
Think about his creation. Surely he made creatures ...
Related Topics: Animals, God's Character, Humor, Joy, Laughter
Seeds of Change
I love change. I like to be on the front end of new and fresh things. But there's always a part of change that's difficult. Moving to Chicago from California was tough because my roots were deep. And the primary ways that I experience God are through activism, relationships, and nature. I got ripped out of all three. I didn't have a job. My kids were starting school. I had no friends. And to this ...
Related Topics: Change, Growth, Transformation
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