Geeking Out on God/Love | Striving for Free/Fearless Living
The gospel can be cut so many ways. “Good news” for a woman begging is different than for a rich Westerner, or trafficked boy. But concepts like unconditional love and freedom keep me busy.
I’ve heard many Christians stress about people needing to “convert” or “be saved” to avoid hell. Was it similar thinking that sparked the convert-or-die theology of the Crusades?
Our lives have been marked by boundaries: the boundary of the womb, the boundary of the crib, the boundary of the skies… and we push these walls, kicking against the dark in the uterus, climbing out of cribs, dreaming of flight and touching the heavens.
It seems like all boundaries–from the glass ceilings to the Berlin Walls, were meant to be destroyed…
But some of the greatest walls rest in our Hearts.
You know the story of the guest pastor who visited a church in shabby attire, unshaven and maybe even unshowered? Churchgoers sidestepped him and certainly didn’t seat him at the front, so imagine their surprise/shame when he got up to give the sermon.
It’s a good example of the authenticity of our Love, and while Love shouldn’t be swayed by sight, any flesh and blood wrapped in labels like “Refugee” -“Homeless” -“Foreigner” -“Moocher” -“Homosexual” -“Annoying Friend,” will test our hearts.
Do we love because we want to, or because we ‘must?’ If the latter, is that really love?
Continue reading “Jesus: Homeless Refugee Moocher, Not Welcome in Today’s Church?”
Dear “Christian,”
Whether you’re a Christian or a Christian from the “synagogue of Satan” (Revelation 3:9), don’t worry: there’s love here. Sorry to be blunt but with so many “Christians” holding bibles and speaking/doing hate, people need clarity. Luckily Love is the litmus test (1 Cor 13) and “a tree is known by its fruit” (Luke 6:44).
If your fruits are primarily outward like church attendance, wearing crosses, even big Bible knowledge, look out! It’s possible to be crazy about God, the Bible, and still miss His Heart–I’ve been there. Christians can even make God an idol (been there too, Ouch).
Whatever your identity, I’m writing this with a motivation to help protect, especially children, if things go Havoc on earth. America may be center stage for the only war that’s ever truly rumbled on earth: Love vs. Hate.
Let’s unpack.
Continue reading “Open Letter to those Identifying as “Christian” in America”
You may be a fellow parent at school, or faithful church goer. Maybe a pastor, doctor, teacher, neighbor, police officer, business mogul, bus driver, politician, janitor… You may be friend or family, male or female, greying or young, any race, (anti)religion, sexual orientation, political party affiliation,..
I’m not here to curse or condemn you. This is an honest letter from the heart.
It’s maybe every kids dream: a house to themselves. When kids reach a certain age and maturity level, parents will inevitably leave them home alone, maybe even over night.
Many 80’s movies show what can happen when parents go away for the weekend, and we expect sex, drugs and rock and roll–fun and foolishness. We’d never imagine oppression/abuse/hatred, but if we look at the world and consider God gave us the “keys” back in Eden, we see that’s exactly what we got…
Continue reading “When Divine Kids get a Planet to Themselves – The Ultimate House Party”
Visit any church and listen to people sing about God’s Love–but do they know how deep it goes? Can they understand it or would they recognize it?
Love is easy when given to one who spills milk, but how about someone who spills blood? And not accidentally but purposefully?
The hard truth is God’s Love goes that deep… for the mass murderer, the child rapist, the filmer of any kind of torture….
We may think we’re decent people, innocent of such crimes, but don’t forget: your thought life is also part of the equation. Jesus said being angry with someone was like murder, and looking lustfully at someone was like having an affair (Matthew 5:21-30).
Truly no one gets into heaven on merit, but we’re all invited:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16, bible)
So considering all the hate and evil in the world, not just in deed but in thought- Jesus was on the craziest Love mission ever… Continue reading “God’s Love is Deeper than our Worst…”
It’s a school holiday week here, and my husband let me sleep in (8am, woo hoo!). It was a rough night with our little one, and I came downstairs groggy. I had already been pondering the day from the bed–Will the kids listen? Will I lose my temper? (People, don’t set yourself up for failure…think positive, think of all the blessings..a home, bed, covers, and the kids are all safe together with me, put all the troubles squarely at God’s Feet. Deep breath. Ok, Let’s Go!)
My 6yr. old was sitting sweetly on the carpet watching a programme. I was about to greet him when I noticed his hair: loaded with way too much hair gel–again, smelling strongly and looked dusty. I was about to say: ‘hey, don’t you remember? Use just a bit of that stuff, ok?’
Continue reading “What I Didn’t Say to my Son this Morning…Confessions of a Perfectionist Tongue”
Day 11 of the “Wild Kids, Wild God-Looking into God’s Heart” series. This post is Part 2 of the same titled article. You can read Part 1 here.
For my husband’s 40th Birthday we decided to go out for dinner. As you can imagine, going anywhere with four children is a challenge an adventure. Restaurants should be large enough for the little ones to get rowdy without really disturbing others. And play corners are critical: we don’t make calls about reservations, we call about play corner set-ups.
All the kids were excited to go and we hoped for the best. Continue reading “Rejection, Anger, Empathy, Love: What they did to you, they did to Me [Part 2]”
When my first son was small and still perfecting his toilet training technique, I took him and his newborn sister to the local shopping plaza (daring, yes). All was well until he let me know he needed to “go.” In this country it’s not common to enter a place and use the toilet. There’s a lot of resistance and most shops affirm that the bathrooms are for “employees only.” You may even get a dirty look if you walk into a restaurant and use the bathroom while not dining there. Continue reading “Rejection, Anger, Empathy, Love: What they did to you, they did to Me [Part 1]”
