For twenty-four hours, Thanksgiving Day arouses gratefulness and benevolence in Americans. Then Black Friday hits, and things take a radically different turn. On Thursday, we open our doors to welcome family and count our blessings. On Friday, we tear down doors to snatch the hottest items at satisfying prices. The twenty-four-hour paradox is almost funny. … Continue reading What Black Friday Taught Me About Godliness and Contentment
November 25 The question inevitably arises every year: “What are you thankful for?” And a long list of goodness fills my mind. Thanksgiving has a way of tinging everything with a reason; a reason to be thankful. But instead of listing it all, this year I laser focused my attention in on one blessing: Friendship. … Continue reading Thankful for Friendship
November 18 As a follow-up to Thursday's article on reading, I've compiled a list of books. These reads are doctrinally rich, yet written in a way that any young person can easily understand. They are better books; catalysts that can stretch us, grow us, and draw us deeper into a relationship with God. (Not to … Continue reading A List of Better Books
I can’t help but feel overwhelmed when I step into a bookstore. My infatuation compels me to skim every shelf and scan every title until I’ve found the perfect reads. I love books. But not every book. One reason why bookstores overwhelm me is because they require an immense amount of filtering. It’s nearly impossible … Continue reading 4 Reasons Why Young People Should Read (Better) Books
November 11 … Cracking eyelids open to reflections in cold glass Ink-toned coffee steaming, swishing, resting in my grasp Streaks and hues and tints and tones and shades across the sky Blankets wrapped and scrambled eggs and Bibles lying wide … Crimson ivy groping, climbing toward a pure expanse Pavement curling, bike wheels sending cluttered … Continue reading Poem for Autumn
November 4 “But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.” -Matt. 5:44-45a On Wednesday evening, I sat with my sisters in Christ and we began to pray over the persecuted church. Each of us held … Continue reading 3 Ways to Pray for the Persecuted
Skeptic of Christianity, people ask a notorious question: How can a loving God allow evil? Truthfully, scores of Christians ask the same thing. The blatant evil plaguing the world counters our limited perception of a daddy-like God. We want to understand how an Almighty Father whose “steadfast love endures forever” could strike his mighty hand … Continue reading God Creates Calamity?
October 28 This is a special week. The end of October marks one year since Bethany J’s Journal was launched! Can you believe it? For me, the time has sped. Yet so many beautiful things have happened over the past year too. It would take more words than I can conjure to thank God for … Continue reading One Year of Blogging! + A Fresh Design
October 21 I’ve been watching the sky lately. Not because I know of any impending comets or eclipses or irregular moons. I’ve been sky-watching because there’s something inherently awe-inspiring about witnessing a sunrise or a sunset. And when the radiance of hues across the skyline strikes awe within me, I’m immediately raptured by the God … Continue reading Watching the Sky
The New Testament story of Jesus, the demoniac, and the herd of hogs is both miraculous and absurd. In Mark 5, this event is carefully detailed from the disciple writer's viewpoint. Taking a few creative liberties, I recently wrote this story from a different perspective: that of the hog farmer. /// I brushed a grimy … Continue reading The Hog Farmer (A Short Story from Mark 5)
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