Hello, my friends, I hope this finds you well today and that you discovered things and people whom you are deeply grateful for. Today is the beginning of Advent. The season that extends to us an annual invitation to recenter and renew our hearts towards the profound reality brought by Christ's birth in the world. With the looming uncertainty and darkness that seems to shape the years ahead, I wanted to invite us to reflect a bit on the birth of Jesus in the presence of a ruthless dragon as...
2 days ago • 13 min read
Hello, my friends, With thanksgiving coming up this week, I know it can be a very complicated time for many of you, especially post election. Please know I am praying for you and thinking of you as you navigate this next week. This is also part of the reason I wanted to think with you about Jeremiah 8:4-13 today. I don't know about you, but I have had a lot of fellow Christians downplay, gaslight, and even mock my concerns about the years ahead. So, I wanted to reflect on that topic with you...
9 days ago • 15 min read
Dear friends, I have struggled to think about what to write to you since last week. Especially after all your messages, expressing all the pain, anger, frustration, and questions you all had. I recieved more messages this last week than I have before. Please know that I care about each message that you send me and if you don’t end up getting a response from me, it isn’t because I don’t care. It’s only because I didn’t have the time to get to all of them. I carry all your burrdens with me and...
16 days ago • 15 min read
Hello my friends, I have received so many messages from all of you since the election. Messages expressing pain, confusion, anger, fear, and grief. So this newsletter is specifically crafted for you. I hope what we reflect on together today will not only give you freedom to grieve but also bring some peace in knowing that you are not alone and we are in this together. But before we get into that, here are some resources I would recommend for our current moment: The season of Advent begins...
23 days ago • 10 min read
Hello my friends, With Election Day being this week, I wanted to just take this time to reflect with you and think with you, which is always the goal of my work. I want to share with you on a bit more on a personal level and then invite us to ponder the posture of our hearts as we move through the election and beyond. But before we get to that, here are some resources to consider: The season of Advent begins today! This season extends an annual invitation for us to reorient our hearts toward...
about 1 month ago • 10 min read
Hello, my friends, After my last newsletter, many of you responded by asking about my thoughts on Romans 13, which is an oft-quoted passage when it comes to political power. With the election drawing nearer by the day, I think it would be helpful to take a look at this passage, how it has been misused, and how it can be so helpful when we read it in context and guide our political witness, no matter who is elected to power over us. But before we get into that, here are some resources to...
about 1 month ago • 12 min read
Hello, my friends, A lot of pastors and other influencers have been sharing "Christian voting guides" lately, which has prompted a lot of folks asking me for one as well. While I see the merit in some of these guides, I have always felt they can become a bit too partisan or even encourage us not to engage in the political process as Christians. Because of this, I wanted to step back and take a look at our fidelity to Jesus instead, which is the ultimate influence over our life's choices,...
about 1 month ago • 11 min read
Dear Christian, what is our actual goal when it comes to abortion? As you may know, on October 7th, The Supreme Court let stand a decision barring emergency abortions that violate Texas ban. This means that no one gets to decide what puts a woman’s life at risk or in an emergency other than the Texas government. (Read more here). The Texas abortion ban has withstood multiple legal challenges for more than two years now, including from women who had serious pregnancy complications and have...
about 2 months ago • 5 min read
Hello, my friends, We have been hearing about and probably even noticed some disinformation ourselves recently and no doubt we will be seeing more of it before this election is behind us. So, today I wanted to think about this topic together by first looking at the conversation between Pilate and Jesus in John 18:28-40 then ponder how it equips us to navigate towards truth in our world today. Before we get to that, here are som resources you might find helpful: -The Conspiracy Files by...
about 2 months ago • 16 min read
Hello, my friends, I want to thank you all so much for your kind and thoughtful messages to my last newsletter. Not only did you offer your prayers and support, but you shared your stories of what makes you exhausted in our world today as well. I am so thankful for this community. Today, I wanted to invite us to think about something I hear almost daily on social media. Whenever I post about Jesus’ call to love our neighbor or to have greater compassion towards all people, I will receive...
about 2 months ago • 11 min read