4 Ways Fear Disguises Itself as Responsibility

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and anyone who fears has not been perfected in love. 1 John 4.18 One early morning last September, I was fending off a panic attack while driving through the endless cornfields of southern Illinois. Maybe it [...]

The journey

“The process will be long and in parts very painful; but that is what we are in for. Nothing less.” — C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity I wonder why it’s so difficult to create. I think up a theme, and come up blank. I grasp my pen, but no words flow out. I want my work completed [...]

Why the “Christian life” isn’t worth living

For a good part of my life, I focused my faith on knowing Jesus through morality management. More accurately, Jesus was savior and the Spirit was the voice that helped give me the strength to avoid things like cussing, gossip, lust, and pride. Getting through a single day where those sins were avoided meant a major [...]

Daydreams and reality

When I was a girl, I was not allowed to have Barbie dolls. My parents didn’t want to encourage me to live in a “Barbie dreamland.” Even though this decision made me feel left out from time to time, I understand that they wanted to protect how I learned about self-image. Let’s be honest: Barbie [...]

True beauty matters

Beauty matters. A few weeks ago, I was surprised to find myself at the arena downtown a couple of nights in a row. I saw two different recording artists who had come through town on their multi-city tours. There couldn’t have been two more different shows to see than these.  The first night’s show would [...]

Not all who wander are lost

“Like a bird that wanders from its nest is a person who wanders from his place”  —Proverbs 27:8 I remember the first time I witnessed a sparrow hit a window. I thought, “This never would have happened if the bird hadn’t left the nest.” Leaving the nest is a dangerous business, yet it’s also necessary. A [...]

God, the Great Gardener

There is one area of my life that, despite my best intentions and efforts, usually ends in failure. It is the area of gardening. I rarely keep plants alive. Leafy greens, blooming bulbs and even the un-needy cacti die slow, painful deaths all around my house. I end up having to buy replacement greenery, much [...]

Identity through Christ [Reflections]

Psalm 34:22 “No one who takes refuge in Him will be condemned.” Some characters from the Bible are difficult to identify with. You may not feel the strongest connection to Samuel, Noah, or Job. But David is the Bible’s everyman. To the poor or the young, he is David the shepherd boy; to the eminent, [...]

The Sanctified Imagination [Reflections]

  “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind” Romans 12:2 Much effort is required to rescue someone, say, from exploitation. Yet the rescue is just the beginning of a new journey. A longer process of healing is needed to lift psychological and emotional weights. This illustrates sanctification, the journey of transformation that follows salvation. [...]

Reflections: And like I am they too will be

In the middle of April, I with a group of friends, all members of the Achinoam Brother’s men’s group a part of the Table Church in Victoria BC, departed for a weekend hike in the west coast wilderness of Vancouver Island. Our mission, to hike from China beach to Sombrio along the Juan De Fuca [...]