The old year is coming to a close, and a new one is beginning. For me, this is a time of reflection on what has come before, and meditation on what new life might be springing forth in the months to come. As I engage in this year-end reflection, here are three spiritual practices that …
Christmas is a big mess of tangled emotions, and the older I get the more I despair of ever sorting them out. Am I supposed to feel nostalgia or hope, gratitude or angst? Is Christmas a time for cheering or weeping? I really can’t tell. Maybe the answer to all these questions is yes. The …
What would it be like to go a day without seeing a logo? Would it be weird to live in a place without commercials, sales pitches, billboards? I’ve heard that in Cuba public advertising is illegal, but I admit that, as an American, this is hard for me to imagine. They say that death and …
There’s always going to be someone who is smarter than you. Richer. More successful by whatever metric you choose to employ. Does that bother you? As a friend of Jesus, you are invited into an entirely different way of measuring your life. Rather than comparing yourself to the greatest, look to the smallest. Instead of …
Have you ever experienced a setback so devastating that all you wanted to do was hide – from family, from friends, from the communities you’re a part of? One of the reasons we become part of church community is the promise of a space where we can be fully ourselves and find support when we …
For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power. – 1 Corinthians 4:20 Since childhood, we’ve been told a story about what power means. Powerful people can have whatever they want. Powerful people command respect. They sit at the head of the table. They chart the course. Power means having your …
Hello, my name is Micah, and I’m a sinner. When I say that I’m a sinner, what I mean is that I’ve been fighting with God all my life. I choose my twisted version of the world over the truth and beauty of the Creator. I prefer empty idols to the whole grain bread of …