Author: Jocelyn
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free to judge; free not to judge
A few of you have reached out to me, humbly, to say that my little non-judgment experiment has made you a bit uncomfortable. I must admit that I am very encouraged by the reports of discomfort! Partly because it helps me know that I am not alone. And partly because is must mean we’re growing!…
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an experiment in not-judging
I’m doing an experiment. I guess it is pretty simple, but excruciatingly challenging. I am trying not to judge anyone for anything. I am doing my best not to draw lines, not to put myself in the place of God, approving or disapproving of humans, and rather to attempt to see every human as just…
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why I’ve {mostly} given up pining for spiritual-emotional highs
Growing up in church, I got the impression that the people who were serious about God had only, always positive thoughts and feelings toward church, prayer, Bible-reading, and God. I thought that my feeling any sort of “high” in the emotional-spiritual department of my life meant that I must certainly be on the right track,…
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Ke$ha “Hymn”
Have you heard Ke$ha’s new song, “Hymn”? It is quite beautiful. Hauntingly beautiful, in my humble opinion. I am embarrassed to say that if I would have heard this song in my twenties, it would have made me instantly angry, defensive, and judgmental. I would have gotten out my theological red pen and gone to work…
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Jesus is different than you think.
No matter in what country you were raised, no matter who raised you, no matter to what church you do or don’t go, no matter which Scripture passages are your token favorites, no matter how many books about Jesus you do or don’t read, no matter how aligned your theology is to whichever famous theologian…
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the broken-hearted; the oppressed.
I don’t know about you, but whenever I hear about the broken-hearted and the oppressed (the underprivileged, the downtrodden, the marginalized, etc.) the picture that usually jumps to my mind is a starving orphan in tattered rags, a strung out prostitute on a streetcorner, or a single mom with only sour milk in her refrigerator.…
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every bouquet in the flower market
Several years ago, I took a course called The History of [Christian] Doctrine. Our professor, Dr. John D. Hannah, said something that has always stuck with me. He said that, over the course of history, Catholics and Protestants walked through the same field of theological wildflowers, picking as they went. When they arrived at the…
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Dominating the Conversation
On a warm but windy evening this week, I went on a walk with my friend Donna. And I accidentally dominated the conversation. I guess I had a lot on my mind and in my heart. Donna asks such good questions and listens with such interest and patience that I always hardly notice when I’m…
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Who do I want to be when I grow up? Spiritual Formation series, part 8.
I’m stuck in a rut. I’ve been finding myself obsessing lately about: What do I want to be when I grow up? Its symptoms are obvious, once I’m honest about them: anxiety, fear, impatience, anger, endless streams of unanswerable and unhelpful questions (What am I doing with my life? I’m not doing it very well today… Am…
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Hearts Swelling with Love
Every day it seems I notice my boys swelling a bit. Don’t worry – they’re not sick. They’re just growing. Their bellies swell with the fullness of a simple meal. Their calves swell with overuse in reckless play. Their language swells; new words and more correct pronunciations and verb conjugations are on the rise. Their…