May 2008

When Men- and Women-Only IS Okay

Last month I posted a blog about my irritation over a fundraising auction item for "gentlemen" to golf at an all-male golf club. I appreciated all the wonderful, thoughtful responses (even the one saying that said God didn't create men and women "equal." Did men get more of the image of God? Yes, we're different - praise the Lord - but how can ...

continue reading

Armor at the Beach

I don't play poker, but maybe I should. I've got the face for it.

I developed my "poker face" early in life, but my leadership roles have helped me to perfect it. My ability to keep my emotions off my face - and to maintain a steady exterior - has seen me though many sticky situations. Like any skill, this is a tool I can use for good. My emotional control ...

continue reading

Food for Thought - May 27 2008

Beware of pride. There is always a great spiritual danger in thinking that if in some area we have satisfied a specific, concrete demand we have done everything that God requires. Ten percent is a lot of money to some folks; to others it's not very much. Isn't that one of the lessons to be learned from Jesus' comments about the widow's mite? To suppose that ...

continue reading

In The Face Of Tragedy

Yesterday in our weekly team meeting we prayed again for three people we know who are dying from cancer.

Later that day I received an email requesting prayer for Steven Curtis Chapman and his family as they face the tragic death of their youngest daughter.

Today, on my walk home there was a tiny bird squeaking in the grass - its wing broken. I don't know if it will ...

continue reading

The Title I Didn't Ask For

I married a banker. I like to remind my banker-turned-pastor husband of this when we're having a particularly difficult time in the ministry. Although I wouldn't trade his occupation (some would say "calling"), my husband's career choice bestowed on me a title I never bargained for when we walked down the aisle.

I am a pastor's wife.

While ...

continue reading

Food for Thought - May 19 2008

Good parents openly affirm their children: "We appreciate your good behavior." Or, "You're doing a great job in school." They also know when to discipline: "If you jump on your bed again, you will be punished." Thus, children know where they stand and what they need to do.

Staff members need similar feedback. They should not be left wondering. ...

continue reading

Putting Relationship in Its Place

Last weekend was spent doing one of those uber-stressful things: buying a car. We are a one-car family and tend to drive our cars until they die and our trusty Sebring could no longer be trusted so it was time to replace it. For us, a major purchase like this is almost traumatic. We are very careful and have a purchasing style that might drive others insane.

Like the ...

continue reading

5 (un)Real Role Models

From Hillary to Miley to Condi to Britney, I find most discussion about female role models in popular culture pretty idiotic. There's always some big "controversy" brewing in the media about women in the limelight: Too emotional or too robotic? Way too sexy or too pear-shaped in a pantsuit? Overly assertive or too demure? Too many dates or too many pounds?

continue reading

Food for Thought - May 12 2008

There are a lot of myths concerning modesty. One of them is that modesty is Victorian. But, in fact, it dates back way before the Victorian era. It's in the Bible. As long as we've been human we've needed modesty, because as humans we don't just have sex; we also have emotions and vulnerability. Modesty prevented us from being vulnerable with the wrong people. ...

continue reading

Mother's Day's Surprising History

On Sunday, May 11, our nation will celebrate the 100th year anniversary of Mother's Day. The United Kingdom began celebrating mothers much earlier than the United States. In the 17th century, on "Mothering Sunday," children in the UK presented their mothers with flowers and "Mothering Cakes." Early Christians celebrated a sort of mother's day ...

continue reading

Follow us

FacebookTwitterRSS

free newsletters: