July 12 “God intends for the whole world to be able to praise him. He intends for Zion to set an example of faithfulness for the rest of the world. Zion cannot do this when evil persons corrupt others.”[i] Bleating sheep and bellowing salesmen swarmed the temple. But really? God's house was empty. In the … Continue reading Jesus’ Anger Gathers and Glorifies
July 5 Angry, Cain slaughtered his brother (Gen. 4:8). Furious, Herod killed every Bethlehemite boy (Matt. 2:16). Filled with resentment, Hitler obliterated six million Jews.[i] When hatred fuels anger, it sheds blood and sets fire. It’s a Boeing aircraft in the side of a burning, crumbling World Trade Center. It destroys. And it doesn’t have … Continue reading Jesus’ Anger Restores
This article was written for and published on TheRebelution blog. My friendship with Sara Barratt is 100% virtual. We’ve never talked over coffee or met up at a conference or worshiped together in church. I met Sara in the Young Writer’s Workshop—a place where everyone shares a thrill for stories, words, articles, novels, and poems. … Continue reading The Girl Who Started a Love Riot for Jesus
June 28 Note: This is the second post in a mini-series on Jesus’s righteous anger, and how we can respond to evil like him. Holding my brother’s hand was the very last thing I wanted to do when I was angry at him. But as eight- and ten-year-olds, that was our punishment for fighting. My anger … Continue reading Jesus’ Anger Makes Room
June 21 I passed your home early at dawn, And saw the front room light was on. By that light in a chair you nested, A favored Bible on your lap rested. Hands folded, worship sincere. Jesus invited, Jesus is there. And I thought What a blessing for a Dad to seek … Continue reading The Light at Dawn
June 14 Note: This is the first post in a mini-series on Jesus's righteous anger, and how we can respond to evil the way he did. Masked people held cardboard signs on my newsfeed this morning: “White counterprotesters mock Floyd’s killing.”[i] I clicked on the picture to read about people calling good evil and evil … Continue reading Be Angry Like Jesus
June 7 “Adam had no idea one bite could cause all of this.” Jackie Hill Perry’s latest Instagram photos have exposed the violence, hatred, fire, and war ravaging America right now. Her caption stung me. Violence and hatred and fire and war wouldn’t be ravaging us if Adam hadn’t stooped to join Eve in her … Continue reading “It Will Not Be So in the Mended Wood”
He sold black, ceramic owls. They were eighty dollars apiece and one could’ve fit in my palm (I didn’t try). His booth was tucked between a t-shirt souvenir shop and the street corner where a tan man in a fedora rasped out tunes on wood flutes. Dad and I stopped to have a look, and … Continue reading Eyes to See
May 31 I journaled my way across Texas’s panhandle last June, writing things like this: I’ve noticed the plants here grow together. Only occasionally is a shrub brave enough to weather the prairie alone. And those that do wear brambles to prove their fortitude. My Missouri home is green and humid. The contrast between Southwestern … Continue reading Shrubs and Trees and Living Water
A handful of happy things from the month of May… The Chronicles of Narnia The journey was lovely, and it ended with The Last Battle over quarantine. Mr. Lewis brought it all to a sweeping finish that left me sighing with mingled longing and contentment. “All their life in this world and all … Continue reading May Smiles
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