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How to Possess Your Soul in Troubling Times
By your patience, possess your soul said Jesus in Luke 19:20 after warning his followers of persecution and hard times. The phrase possess your soul really hit me. After all, my husband was laid off unexpectedly a couple of weeks ago and if anything, I have not felt in possession of myself. Angry, frustrated, and disappointed, yes. Patient? Not particularly. We seem to be living in times where possessing your soul or exhibiting patience is no longer a virtue. The talking heads on cable news interrupt and berate each other nightly, their main purpose to inflame their audience. Patience does not get ratings. Losing it nightly in front of cameras…
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Mary and Martha: What We Misunderstand as Women
The Mary and Martha paradigm precipitated a landslide of books that subtly or not so subtly shamed women who worry about everything they need to get done. I don’t know about you, but I know that whenever I think of Martha, I get the impression Jesus disapproved. I can’t help but identify with Martha sometimes because, well, I get busy. Even my prayer times consist of lists. And part of me wants to tell Mary to get off her tush and help Martha out. Then my 21st-century mentality rises to the surface and thinks, Why aren’t the men helping out? My basic issue with the current Mary and Martha paradigm…
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How to Make All Things New
Every time I think of the scene in The Passion of the Christ where Jesus tells His mother, Mary, Behold, I am making all things new, I feel my heart lurch. This is the hope of the Christian, isn’t it? That the old life with its hurts, angers, and grief is now dead. Our new lives have begun in Christ. And yet, what a disappointment to wake up to find the old habits piled on oneself like a giant load of dirty laundry. I believe that many pastors mean well when they tell us that we are new creations in Christ without mentioning the hard part. Even now, when I…
Healing Through Art & Words
