It was uncomfortable to disclose my need for help. It felt awkward and out of place. Didn’t this person have better things to do than mow my lawn? How could I be so foolish! I condemned myself for my selfishness. But that Saturday, he came. There was no frustration in him, no judgement, just the offer of loving help. As I watched him push the mower up and down my lawn, I had a deeper experience of Christ’s love that I have ever experienced.
Bible
Please Forgive Me: A Guest Post by Marsha Crockett
Forgiving ourselves begins with Christ’s forgiveness. His grace quenches our thirst. He understands our human conditions, creates community, and ultimately calls us to lay down your guilt and regrets. It is finished. We are free.
Silencing Labels
Labels sap our spiritual vitality because they mask our truest selves. They attempt to convince us of a reality that is simply not true. We are not our labels
In Conversation: Mark Buchanan
When I began having these conversations around the notion of spiritual discouragement, I knew that I wanted to involve a conversation with Mark in some way. Gracious as always, he made time in his busy schedule to record this conversation. I know that you will be blessed by our conversation.
Claiming Grace
There is no shame in grace. Claiming God’s grace is not a sign of weakness or lack of faith. It is a bold and radical act of trust. We reach out to the one who sits with us, who incarnates himself in the very depths of our hurts and struggles.
Praying when we cannot find the words
What if we chose to see frustration in prayer as an invitation to journey deeper with Christ? Discouragement in prayer, after all, is rooted in a desire to pray, and a call to pray. In fact, discouragement in prayer testifies to the fact that we understand prayer rightly.
Psalm 73: A Song for the Faithfully Forlorn
We all get discouraged or frustrated in our faith. Our spiritual lives rarely occur exactly as we would imagine or hope. After all, we live in an imperfect world, and we bear those imperfections within ourselves. We all struggle. We all question. We all, at times, raise our voice to the heavens and scream “why?” … Continue reading Psalm 73: A Song for the Faithfully Forlorn
Suffocating the seed: Reflections on the Parable of the Sower.
Did you know that overwatering a plant doesn't actually drown the plant but suffocates it. Overwatering restricts the oxygen available for the plant's growth. What are some ways we restrict the Spirit in our lives?
A Valley of Bones
Have you ever felt the need to comment on something but find that you have no words to do so? That’s how I feel in this moment. The country weeps in the wake of the newly discovered mass-grave on the property of a Kamloops Residential School. Such things are what you expect to find in … Continue reading A Valley of Bones
True Liberation – A reading of the Parable of the talents
(This post be long!) This post arises out of question, posed on social media, about how we might mistakenly interpret this parable based on the privilege and capitalism of our North American context. I took that to heart and looked for alternative interpretations, based largely in liberation theology. I started writing out some of my … Continue reading True Liberation – A reading of the Parable of the talents
Reverend Kyle Norman 