I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship. Romans 12:1 (Amplified) As 2018 fades, our thoughts turn to what we resolve to accomplish in the freshness of…
Archives for 2018
The Sword: The Cost of Surrender
r The Fourth Day of Advent: Peace “A sword shall pierce through your own soul also.” Luke 2:34 What does a sword have to do with peace? In his book, Mary for the Evangelicals, Tim Perry wrestles with the meaning of the sword. I always took this to mean that Mary would feel the natural,…
The Third Day of Advent: Faithful Love
“There was a prophetess, Anna…she did not leave the temple complex, serving God night and day with fasting and prayers…at that very moment, she began to thank God”. Luke 1:36-38 To fulfill the customs of the law, Mary and Joseph had to take eight-day old Jesus to the Temple for circumcision and dedication. In…
Unspeakable Joy: The Fulfillment of a Promise
My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…” Luke 1:47 Since my last blog, I have learned some things about Mary that have enhanced the way I understand her. She was an illiterate teenage girl when she encountered the angel Gabriel. She did not grasp the prophecies about the Messiah, as…
First Day of Advent 2018: Hope
“Listen carefully: you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a Son, and you shall name Him Jesus.” Luke 1 It had been four thousand years since Israel heard directly from God. The angel Gabriel brought the message that the promised Messiah was coming. He swooped in to the little town of Nazareth where…
Advent Season Introduction: God Becomes Human
The world celebrates Christmas without really understanding what it means. It is God revealed in human flesh, the great mystery of our faith. Do I fully understand the incarnation? No, but I believe it with my whole heart and I can celebrate His incarnation all year. But it also has implications that affect my life…
Excerpt from A Dream Deferred
Chapter One December 1967. Fifteen years ago this month, twenty-seven-year-old Pearl Williams lost the light of her life. Tonight, she lifted her microphone from the stool on stage and waited for the blinding spotlight to engulf her. She put it to her freshly painted lips and listened for her cue from the house band. People…
Three Generations
I am working this summer on a three-book series that spans three generations of women: Mother, daughter, and granddaughter. The series was birthed over a decade ago in the form of a short short story called Rise. As time went on, this incredible story became much more. Lydia Green opens the story with a promise…
The Voice in the Wilderness
“Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.” 3 The prophet Isaiah was speaking about John when he said, “He is a voice shouting in the wilderness, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord’s coming! Clear the road for him!’ Matthew 3:2-3 John the Baptist prepared the way for the Messiah,…
In the Beginning
I want to look back at where America’s racial wounding began in order to discern how deep the roots of racial injustice are in spite of passed laws, Supreme Court rulings, and proclamations of unity. We can cry like the people of Israel in Jeremiah’s day: “We waited for peace and salvation, but no good…