Author: Jocelyn
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gratitude: the way of escape
I was doing some Bible study homework this week and these verses collided in my head and my heart. Then they mulled around for awhile. Now I think I may be onto something. 1 Cor 10:12-13 No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you…
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How to survive ‘Meet & Greet’ at church: for people who get squeamish around awkwardness
Whenever I’m in a new place, it takes me a little while to settle in. In a place like my current 125-year-old church, where lots of people have been attending, serving, knowing, and being known for a lot of years, it can take me even longer. But, I’ll never forget the Sunday that God decided…
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awful, awe-full Friday
What an awful, awe-full Friday. Awful an innocent man a muddied, mottled, muddled trial murdered. Awe-full nonsense: a God who lets himself die publicly unjustly freely for me. Awful the dark dire depths of breathed-dirt. Awe-full a God who brings and sings True Light True Breath by walking willingly into this dark earth amid the…
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How should we measure ministry ‘success?’ What is our aim?
Have you ever wondered: Is anything I’m doing making a difference? Does anyone notice my sacrifice? What am I really putting in all of these hours for? Are these people I pray for and give to and reach out to ever going to make any progress – spiritually, physically, financially? These are all vital questions…
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lent 2015: why I gave up dessert during lent
Jesus is over there, sweating blood and being abandoned by God Himself, and I’m over here giving up my free DQ cone for Lent. #worldsapart The above was a tweet of mine from yesterday. Last night I was thinking more about it and thought I’d share just a little bit more. Thanks for reading. I…
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New Parents! Diapers or Deadlines: 7 Things to Consider about Staying Home vs Going Back to Work after Baby
The decision of whether or not to go back to work outside the home after maternity/paternity leave is nothing short of a difficult one for many. There are so many factors to consider: Who will go, mum or dad? If both, how many hours should one go back to work? Will going back to work affect the…
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When Suffering Leaves Me Too Angry to Pray ‘Right,’ ‘Nice’ Prayers
As I’ve already mentioned on social media, I’m reading Tim Keller’s Walking with God through Pain & Suffering. Perhaps the main three things it has done in my life thus far: altered my faulty, very Western-culture-influenced frame of reference about pain and suffering validated, comforted, and tenderly shepherded (“pastored”) my own experiences of darkness and suffering tenderized…
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We need you at church.
“We need you at church.” My friend Jeff was talking about plain old Sunday morning worship service at our 125 year old church. I wasn’t scheduled to deliver the sermon, lead us in the Lord’s prayer, or do special music (phew!). I wasn’t scheduled to do anything. And yet, for some reason, he said he…
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lent 2015: sitting on the shoulders of those eleven men
For the next forty days or so, we remember Jesus’ final few weeks of ministry, on his way to the cross and the empty tomb. During these final weeks, Jesus did far less feeding, healing, and teaching ministry to the crowds than was usual for him at the beginning of his ministry. Rather, he spent…
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my paraphrase: 2 corinthians 4:16-18
I’ve been into writing paraphrases lately — usually of small parts of the Bible that I read that God uses to change my mind and heart about him and the world. So today I’m introducing a new regular post topic that I’m calling my paraphrase. (Scroll down to the PS at the bottom to suggest a better…