How to Stop Worrying
Some of the best advice I've heard all year. I don't want to worry. Neither do you. So how do we stop?
Jesus as a Voodoo Doll: How His Self-Transformation Affects Us
Over and over, I'm tempted to run from Jesus. Sure He's forgiving. Sure He's merciful. Sure He died for my sins. But I'm tempted to run from Him because I forget that it's in Him that all my transformation takes place. I forget that I don't have to clean myself up before coming back to Him. I forget that He's the one that cleans me up by cleaning Himself up even when He didn't need cleaning up.
Beauty Will Redeem the World: My Favorite Scene from TV This Year
Beauty is its own argument, for as much as we ignore or deny or question its power, we melt in its presence. Human hearts may be nearly impossible to change; but beauty changes them. Beauty pierces us. Beauty reorients our values and purposes. It can drive us and inspire us. Beauty, weak as it may seem, has the power to do what almost nothing else can.
Why Hasn't Anyone Told Me This Before?
It was a normal Monday night. But then again, it wasn't. I found myself writing on a paper bag, sharing about something that has deeply moved me, hearing a startling question, and witnessing a miracle.
I Was Made for You: The Story, Singleness, the Church, and a Love Letter to Those Who Really Love Me
As someone who believes strongly in the value of being real, of confessing, of knowing and being known, I live a life torn in two directions. As desperate as I am to be known, I think the vast majority of people around me see the smile on my mouth and call me blessed. What they don’t realize is that I have so much to say that doesn’t come out. They don’t realize I’m a messed up head-case who’s insecure and needy and impatient and selfish—but as much as I want them all to know that and accept me and love me, the reality is that I don’t trust that they’d really accept me if they knew the real me. I can barely get people to like the projected me, so what hope is there that they’ll accept the whole, unfiltered me behind the projected me?