Month: April 2015
Theodicy Lived Out by MJ Kirby
April 30, 2015
Our youngest, Duke, was one of these tender branches grafted into the faith that had been nurtured in him from birth.
Duke took the oath he was making seriously.
A week prior our son wrestled with whether or not he was actually ready to make such a hefty proclamation. His reservation? An unanswered (and I would add unanswerable) question that loomed heavy on his fledgling heart…
“Why did God ‘allow’ his brother to die?”
Invisible Growth: Because Evil Doesn’t Win by Elizabeth Glass Turner
April 29, 2015
Do you remember standing tall and straight against a door jamb etched with pencil markings as a child? Was there…
Rewriting The Story by MJ Kirby
April 27, 2015
So, why do we make this annual trek to mark Jeremy’s birth, death, Christmas, Easter and other special occasions? I guess somehow in the ritual of the rhythm of returning to the grave we find comfort as we remember. We seek closure. We find consistency. We seek to make sense out of a situation that otherwise makes little to no sense.
Easter: Bonus Material by Claire Matheny
April 25, 2015
But here at the site of the empty tomb is our leap beyond lip service. When we take up the mantle from Mary and open our mouth to the truth. There is something bursting below the surface. A little seed of germination. This is Easter…we are the outliers who believe that despite all the impossibility of being raised from death that our God did just that.
Staring Into Loss: The Tomb by Michael Smith
April 23, 2015
Now that light has dawned, one cannot simply stand and look at a symbol of defeat and the past. New life has broken in and we are not allowed to just look; we are invited and commissioned to go and tell.
Why Animals Need Heaven: God’s Love And The Problem Of Animal Suffering by Matt Douglass
April 22, 2015
It seems, then, that God would not want anything bad to happen in the world, and he certainly has the power to stop them from happening. Yet bad things—unimaginably horrific things—happen every day. Over many centuries, philosophers and theologians have attempted to solve this problem by explaining why God would choose to create a world like ours, where humans and animals frequently endure physical pain and emotional anguish.
Don’t Be Afraid by Andy Stoddard
April 20, 2015
Today is April 16. Every year I write something in memory of my Mama Sarah and in honor of my mom, Maxine Stoddard. On…
Ministering Angels In A Dark World by Maxie Dunnam
April 18, 2015
The promise is not that we would be safe but that we would be faithful. The angel of God does not always spare us from tragedy or troubles, but enables us to look at tragedy troubles through different eyes.
In Awe Of The Resurrection by Elizabeth Glass Turner
April 16, 2015
I find myself walking in the semi-dark, friends clustered around me. Our hands are full, carrying materials to preserve a…
A Call To Holy Compassion by Maxie Dunnam
April 15, 2015
We must be honest about our failures and sins. None of us lives up to the standards our faith demands. But this doesn’t mean we cease wrestling with and proclaiming the Word.