Commandments, Contracts, and Covenant By Beth Demme It’s tempting to make faith into something legalistic. To make it about rules and obedience. I know this is a temptation because I see how prevalent it is in Christian culture, but also because I see it in myself. Often it’s a marker of a new relationship with God, but I’ve been on …
The Birth of Jesus is All Wrong
Unexpected Jesus By Beth Demme And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in bands of cloth, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.” (Luke 2:7) For church folks this line is so familiar most can probably recite it from memory, even if they aren’t much on memorizing …
Advent Is A Season to Celebrate Waiting
By Beth Demme It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas / Everywhere you go / Take a look in the Five and Ten / Glistening once again / With candy canes and silver lanes aglow. When it’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas, Advent has arrived! We could sing “it’s beginning to look a lot like Advent,” but …
How to Find Beauty in the Unexpected
Living Expectantly Part 4: How To Find Beauty In the Unexpected By Beth Demme This month on the blog we’ve looked at what happens when life isn’t quite what we expected. How can we live loved when we don’t live up to our own expectations or life is harder than it should be? Does God think I’m a failure? Is …
Is It Okay To Complain?
Living Expectantly, Part 3: Is It Okay To Complain? By Beth Demme How many choices do you think you’ve made so far today? Maybe it’s early enough that it’s been simple: Coffee? Yes! Decaf? No! Maybe your day has been longer or harder and you’ve already conquered a full buffet of choices. Unless you’re a hermit, you’ve probably made decisions …
Does God Think I’m a Failure?
Living Expectantly, Part 2: Does God Think I’m a Failure? By Beth Demme Last week we started looking at what it means to live expectantly, instead of living with expectations. Do you think God has expectations for you? Have you ever wondered if God thinks you’re a failure? As I shared before, I once ordered a bar stool, but I didn’t …
What Happens When Life Isn’t What I Expected?
By Beth Demme Have you ever received something you really wanted, only to discover it wasn’t at all what you expected? I do a lot of online shopping (probably too much). Every once in awhile, I get something that isn’t what I expected. One time I ordered a bar stool, but I didn’t check the dimensions well enough. When it …
God Is Big Enough For Our Disagreements
I tried. Honestly, I tried. I joined a Facebook group based on a version of Christian theology I knew I didn’t entirely agree with. I hoped to learn something by observing the conversation. Disagreement doesn’t scare me; I’m comfortable admitting there is a lot I don’t know. Plus, I try not to insulate myself with only like-minded people. I want …
Be The Boss
Be The Boss Of Your Own Life, Stop Letting Your Schedule Run You “Now that I’ve had the taste of running something, I don’t think I could go back,” my husband said as we pondered the benefits (and challenges) of being self-employed. Self-employment is something a lot of people talk and write about. Often they talk about it wistfully as …