Is God Really Sovereign?
“Is God really sovereign? Can I trust Him now…even in this?” The steady, virulent progress of the malignant brain tumor gave real urgency …
My Loss, My Gain
Let’s go back to that prison cell where Paul and Silas sang and praised God at midnight. What do you think they hoped to…
Do I Have a Purpose?
What is your purpose in life? Many of us think our purpose is to recapture the Garden of Eden and our pursuit of that goal starts…
Theology Driven Living
Christians sometimes offer false hope to struggling people because their theology is skewed. Browse a Christian bookstore and check…
Why Could Paul and Silas Sing?
As a young man, Dr. J. I. Packer said: “Theology is bad for one’s soul.” What? This from a world-renowned theologian? Instead of a…
Theology Fuels a Broken Hallelujah
Last week we took a quick look at Paul and Silas singing at midnight. Acts 16 tells their story. They were arrested under false pretenses; they were severely beaten, thrown into the inner prison…
A Contemporary Broken Hallelujah
Several years after Mark’s death God seared into our souls a vivid image of the privilege of corporate worship within our covenant community…
Wrestling that Leads to a Broken Hallelujah
Our son Mark’s death stripped away all religious pretenses. I wanted, no I needed to know that everything I had taught, everything I said…
Will You Sing at Midnight?
“I know what the title of your next book should be,” our friend said as she greeted us after church. She continued, “Read Acts 16 where Paul…
A Hopeless Mess
Leonard Cohen, author of A Broken Hallelujah was Jewish. For a time he also practiced Buddhism. He was not a professing Christian and there is a dark…
Pushing Hallelujah into the Mundane
How often I have pushed back against this command to give thanks in all things, especially in the middle of great darkness. Perhaps one reason I push back is…
A Broken Hallelujah
I was asked to teach a workshop on the topic of grief in the context of ONE Annapolis, a women’s regional conference sponsored by our denomination. As I thought about how…
When the Lights Go Out
It’s likely that I have never walked where you are walking, but I do know what shattered dreams and broken hearts are all about. My husband Chuck and I experienced…
The Purpose in Comfort
Have you ever looked back on your life to see the evidence of God’s hand in preparing you for the future? This verse in Hebrews 11 is a definite neon light in the history of my life. God knew a long time ago that this verse would…
Blessed and Broken
A young mother recently lost her child to illness. She spent many long days and nights in the hospital room by her daughter’s side before life gave way to death. Although life as she knew it had stopped in its course…
Seeing God
“Sometimes it’s so hard to talk to God and to trust him when I can’t see him or feel Him.” My daughter said this to me while we lay there cuddled in her bed one night. I always take time to lay with my children while…
It Is Not Well With My Soul
Have you ever listened to the words of the song you are singing? Do you ever stop singing because you realize that you cannot truthfully sing something you do don’t mean? Or perhaps something you don’t feel at the moment…
Live Today
Early one morning during a family vacation, I walked along the ocean as the others slept in. The waves crashed on the sand, the sandpipers ran back and forth with the ebb and flow of the tide. The breeze was cool as the pinnacle…