The Best Hug Ever By Beth Demme There’s something you should know about me. I’m a hugger. I love to hug my children and my husband, but my hugging doesn’t stop there. If we’re friends and I see you at my child’s school, on the soccer fields, or in the grocery story, I’m likely to hug you. On Sunday morning, …
Why I Choose Church
By Beth Demme Recently I had the privilege of teaching at a women’s conference in Nicaragua. Many of my Nicaraguan friends are shown in this photograph. I’ve been to Nicaragua several times and I’m always encouraged by the love I receive there. One of the topics I spoke on was “Presencia” – the importance of fully participating in community. My …
Lent vs. Valentines Day: Are Sundays a Lenten Loophole?
By Beth Demme This year there’s a collision of potentially epic proportions between the church calendar and the Hallmark calendar. You may be one of the millions of Christians facing a monumental dilemma this year. Perhaps you, too, feel the impossible strain of culture drawing you away from a longstanding and beloved spiritual practice. Yes, this year Ash Wednesday arrives …
Can I Be Overwhelmed With Joy?
I’ve had an epiphany! Actually, we’re all having another Epiphany. It’s more than a sudden inspiration; it’s a season on the church calendar. It’s the time of year we celebrate the arrival of the Wise Men. The Wise Men were astrologers. They were star and sky readers. A star led the Wise Men to Jesus, but if you read the …
My Messy Heart is Beautiful
By Beth Demme My daughter is an artist. She has always had an eye for shape and color and an incredible ability to understand spatial relationships. I find her skills especially amazing because they are so different from my own. Spatial relationships–and all things geometrical–are fairly mysterious to me. I remember feeling utter confusion as a child looking at the …