Healthy Rebellion

Oh, I feel overwhelmed and rebellious today.

Nearsighted And Farsighted

I’m continuing to ponder the ways that we see others and ourselves. These are all thoughts that I have worked through over the years as I have wrestled with how to see myself and others–especially difficult people.

In the last few days, I have been thinking about being nearsighted and farsighted in how we see others and ourselves.

Through Different Eyes

I have a teen.

PRAY: Iranian Pastor Faces Execution for Refusing to Recant Christian Faith

An Iranian pastor who has refused to renounce his Christian faith faces execution as early as Wednesday after his sentence was upheld by an Iranian court.

Offenses and Expectations

This is the fourth in a series about forgiveness. Click here to read the first post in the series. 

I want to take a moment to discuss various types of offenses. One thing that has been very difficult for me as I struggled to forgive, was the many well-meaning people who advised me to be more loving and more forgiving. We do have to be loving and forgiving, of course, so they advice wasn’t wrong in and of itself. However, I would try to explain that I have forgiven my family. I understand their wounds and dysfunctions, I don’t hate them, I love them, I have compassion toward them, I grieve over the loss of relationship, I do not hold their wrongs against them, and I pray for them often. Yet, there is a block in our relationship because while there are offenses I have let go, there are also things I remain firm on and will not surrender. I never could explain what the block was, why I felt that some things must be released, while other things must not. So I think it appeared that I hadn’t forgiven.

Who Am I?

Who am I? They often tell me
I would step from my cell’s confinement
calmly, cheerfully, firmly,
Like a squire from his country-house.