Month: February 2017

"God, I love Moonlight so much! I'm so excited for Moonlight! And of course, it was an amazing thing to hear La La Land. I think we all would have loved to win Best Picture. But we are so excited for Moonlight. I think it's one of the best films of all time. So I was pretty beside myself." -Emma Stone It … Continue reading What the Oscars Taught Me →

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God … Continue reading Sunday Wrap Up and The Tension of Heaven →

1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. 2 I say to the Lord, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you." (Psalm 16:1-2) Where do you take refuge? Those bad days are inevitable. In these moments, we run toward comfort and seek escape. In this world, we have plenty to … Continue reading It’s Okay to Laugh →

7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7) Working with teens has given me a deep respect for the various forms gender takes. All too often we designate to kids what it is to be male or female and consequentially … Continue reading Teens, Gender, and the Dirt of God →

As I took my nightly shower, my eye caught a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle toy hiding behind the worn bar of Dove soap. Like it's prone to do in the shower, my mind wandered about the essence of Turtle Power. While I let the conditioner penetrate my scalp, I had the strange thought: why do … Continue reading Why Do Turtles Wear Masks? →

26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. (Romans 8:26) The reason we are so bad at prayer is because we make it too much about us. Any spiritual practice that relies … Continue reading Why We Don’t Pray →

23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? 25 But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait … Continue reading I Groan For Heaven →

2 Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation. (Isaiah 12:2) This week in student ministry, we started a series on love, sex, and dating. Honestly, I dread these talks. Not because I don't … Continue reading So I’m Talking to Our Students About Sex →

12 We are not commending ourselves to you again but giving you cause to boast about us, so that you may be able to answer those who boast about outward appearance and not about what is in the heart. 13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are in our right mind, it is for … Continue reading The Love That Controls Us →

20 But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:20) I had read this passage a hundred times before, but … Continue reading I Made A Decision At Starbucks →