Learning
Growth
Unity
When Educators Feel Appreciated
I had several stand-out high school teachers, but a seventh-grade teacher comes to mind when I think about undercover influence. Mrs. Wells. She invited me to join her after school one day a week with a handful of other seventh graders.
Jephthah: OT Bad Boy or Hero of the Faith? Or Both? Part 2
This article continues from a previous article, introducing Jephthah from Hebrews 11 and Judges 10-11. Was he truly a “hero of the faith?” Read on and learn more.
A Tribute to Dad
In 1969 I married Mark and became Andy’s daughter-in-law. Dad was a man of God, who exemplified the Word. I learned much from him.
Jephthah: OT Bad Boy or Hero of the Faith? Or Both? Part 1
As some of you might already know, a few of us here at Foundry are on a preaching team for a little church in Camp Sherman, OR called Chapel in the Pines. Normally, we preach one off sermons. But one of the church elders asked if we would string together a sermon series. One of our team members proposed walking through the heroes of the faith in Hebrews 11.
Change: How to Keep Calm and Carry On
Not all people are eager for change. It takes us away from the comfortable, the familiar. It sometimes costs, and sometimes hurt, and has the potential to unsettle us a bit. Or a great deal.
Can You Help Me with Something?
For many of us, asking for help is a big no-no, a sign of weakness. Some of us are wired more for independence, and it’s in our nature, succeed or fail, to try things on our own. My daughter exemplified this at a young age, always demanding, “My byself!”
How to be a Praying Parent
Making intercessory prayers for our children is a privilege. It’s a tool from God to assist us in the high calling of rearing our offspring, which takes tremendous amounts of grit and grace.
As I Get Older, I Want to Get Younger
Bob Dylan, folk and rock singer legend, wrote a 1964 song called My Back Pages. It reflected on Dylan’s earlier idealism and included this line: “Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now.” Dylan wrote it to say he had matured in his thinking but at the same time had somehow gotten younger.
No Matter your Size, you can Still be Fierce
Every time I returned from a hike, Roxie was sitting at her guard post, halfway up the stairs where she can see out the large windows that flank the stone fireplace. No one was getting away with anything on her watch.
I Fish, Therefore I Am
I fish, therefore I am.
Well, not really. My ultimate identity is not determined by my fishing. But most of you who know me know I love to fly fish. People out of the blue will ask me how the fishing is. Honestly, I really don’t fish as much as some of you think, but I do fish more than most.
Why Telling our Stories can be Healing
I met this amazing young woman, Sarah Thebarge, at a writers’ conference in Portland a couple years ago. She taught a coaching class entitled “The Healing Power of Your Story”—eight hours spread over three days with in-depth instruction, writing exercises, and critique.
When You Have All Your Ducks in a Row
The antagonism has risen to a new level. After we housed and fed and entertained my daughter, son-in-law, three of the grands, and a grand-dog for five days—five days—we started finding tiny plastic ducks. Everywhere.
Mountains of Grace
…As we reeled in shock, we were catapulted into a deeper level of grief than we thought possible. But God was still saying to me, “MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR YOU!”
The Temptations of Christian Leadership-Part 1
I remember the first time I was tempted as a Christian leader to take credit for what was happening in our church. Our congregation was growing numerically. So much so that we were building a newer, larger facility. People were praising me for my messages. I was being asked to speak other places. I was, by the standards of our evangelical subculture, a success.
How to Prepare for Passover
This year, Passover falls during the last week of April, nearly a month after Easter. People much smarter than me can explain why this happened, but in my heart and in the gospels, these holidays are aligned. Therefore, I am excited to celebrate the redemption of God’s people over the course of an entire month.
The Temptations of Christian Leadership-Part 2
This is part 2 of a review of Henri Nouwen’s book, In the Name of Jesus: Reflections on Christian Leadership, in which Nouwen looks at the perils of Christian leadership from the perspective of Jesus’s wilderness temptation in Matthew 4:1-11 and his interaction with Peter in John 21:15ff.
How Are You Doing at Living Fully?
Our time with family in Hawaii this year unfolded at a slower pace—partly because there were only two couples instead of four. Which allowed for time to read on the beach. And time to leisurely journal on the balcony to the crash of waves.
The Business of Being the Church
Folks are vulnerable when they come inside looking for God, hoping He will pull them in for a hug. They want a place among other believers, the comfort of being among friends. I stand tall to do what I was created to do.
Barbie, Billie Eilish, and Jesus
A caveat before I begin: I’m neither a student of popular culture nor trying to be cool.
But certain happenings catch my attention because they address our universal need for meaning and purpose.
The Passion of the Christ
This in no way is a criticism of those who watched the 2004 movie, The Passion of the Christ, or even of the movie itself. If you were blessed by watching it, praise the Lord. This is an explanation of how it affected me.