“One church. One faith. One Lord. Not Baptist, not Methodist, not Adventist. Just Christians. No denominations. No hierarchies. No traditions. Just Christ.” Max Lucado’s devotional for August 17 in Grace for the Moment poses this question. Would this be impossible to achieve? One church in Christ with no denomination. Instead of groups of two thousand… Read More
Self-help prayer books unneeded; we have manual
The latest pea under my mattress is self-help books on how to pray. I recently saw an advertisement for a book on how to pray “authentically.” Prayer can be hard for many of us, and I worry about putting more pressure on folks to “do it right.” The fact is we already have the book… Read More
Prescription for Shaken Faith (stop feeling guilty!)
The word shake is versatile. It can be a noun or a verb. Its range of meaning run from horrifying to sublime. Shaking in my shoes Shaken not stirred. (No, I have no personal knowledge of this one.) Shake and bake. Shaken baby. He’s got the shakes Chocolate Milkshake Shake it, baby, shake it. (No,… Read More
Turning away from ‘bad’ news not an option
For the first time in my life, I want to turn away from the six o’clock news. Or any news, period. It’s so tempting to avoid the images of war, terrorist attacks, murders, and the daily dose of political egocentricity from both sides of the aisle. But I can’t. And I would argue neither should… Read More
Whether faith music or hymns, worship is personal
A couple of weeks ago my friend Laura Mick posted a “Ponder Anew” blog by Jonathan Aigner criticizing modern church worship (sometimes called faith) music and bands. I found it, as I commented then, a bit snarky. But I ignored my feelings and moved on. Or so I thought. It’s been eating at me ever… Read More
Stories reflect effort to honor Amish world view
I published my first inspirational Amish romance five years ago. I didn’t start out to write about the Amish. Quite frankly, it was my dear agent Mary Sue Seymour’s suggestion. I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it. I did a great deal of research before starting that first book, To Love and To Cherish…. Read More