I knew a woman who strongly believed that everyone was judging her, being purposefully unkind to her, and hated her. She lived day in and day out angry at all of her co-workers, wishing hardships on them, because they obviously disliked her and were harboring negativity towards her. Her anger increased by the day and … [Read more…]
The earliest known written record of laws was the Code of Hammurabi in 1754 BC. Amongst their many laws is a very familiar one: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. This generally means that whatever actions are taken against you then legally you can act out the same actions in retaliation. … [Read more…]
This is the first Sunday in Lent. I think many people no longer know the purpose of Lent. Lent came into being as the Christian time of atonement. During this time, we are called to reflect upon the previous year, our relationships with one another, and how Christ died forgiving those in his life and … [Read more…]
Sometimes I wonder what in the world God is thinking and what he has in store for the future. I had a mentor in seminary who one day said to me “Amanda, everything you experience in this life is meant to be used. There is a reason for everything and God has a plan.” At … [Read more…]
Sometimes we live our lives for our own experiences, for our own purposes, and for our own convenience. This is what we are called to place aside when we come to faith. We are called to start putting the needs of others first and to fight against the injustices of the world. We are asked … [Read more…]
Today’s scriptures are all about God’s call in the lives of humanity. We all experience some kind of call or draw to God in our lives. So we all can relate to these accounts. I remember when I first became aware of my call. I was a young child of 12 years old. I remember … [Read more…]
During the Depression, there was widespread hunger, lack of employment, and homelessness. My Great Uncle and my Grandmother often told me that they knew of people who suffered greatly in town but being children of farmers they suffered very little and barely noticed the Depression. But what my grandmother remembered the most about that time … [Read more…]
I was watching the news the other day and like many people I find it increasingly more difficult to find reports that give me hope in the future of this world. There are reports of all consuming fires, bullying, more people dying from the flu, people dying from war, and copious amounts of political infighting. … [Read more…]
Since the very beginning of Christianity, churches formed rule, regulations, and ways to try to control and understand the movement of the Spirit in the lives of those who call themselves Christian. When I was in college, I attended a lot of different churches from various Christian traditions and what stood out to me is … [Read more…]
My husband and I watched a Ted Talk given by Margaret Heffernan on Monday night for his new job. And the speaker used a study as the illustrative story that really stuck in my mind. This study called Super Chickens was first conducted by Dr. William Muir and it studied pecking order in chickens. In … [Read more…]
