The Best Christmas Pageant Ever… [a holiday movie review]
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The Best Christmas Pageant Ever… [a holiday movie review]

I had no idea what to expect when I walked into an early screening of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever🌟 last Saturday. Since I hadn’t read the book or seen the stage production, I guess I expected something of a Junie B. Jones, elementary reader nature. But instead, I encountered a wondrous story of God’s…

Perfecting God’s Love… [Our Life-Giving Gift]
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Perfecting God’s Love… [Our Life-Giving Gift]

Our Human-ness Brokenness became our human-ness when sin entered the world. Our perfectly axised world suddenly set un-straight was forever imperfectly tilted towards disobedience, enmity, and darkness.  We’re called, as Christ followers, to peel back the darkness and live in the Light; becoming increasingly more like Him. We’re called to love like Jesus loved. And…

The Best Kind of Friend… [and God’s Purpose in Suffering.]
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The Best Kind of Friend… [and God’s Purpose in Suffering.]

The best kind of friend is a praying friend. It’s no secret 2024 has been a hard year for the Rains’ household. Little by little, I’ve pulled back the curtains in this season of life and let friends in…  I might’ve overshared a time or two. But the reality is when we share our “stuff,”…

Trusting God’s Goodness [in the Darkness]
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Trusting God’s Goodness [in the Darkness]

If We’re Being Honest Neither the church nor our broken world needs more SHINY PEOPLE who hide behind the veneer of an audible “fine.” The world needs more Christians willing to process and wrestle publicly. Because when we are honest about the world’s brokenness and our struggles within it, we underscore the futility of our…

How to Love the World… [one challenging circumstance at a time]
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How to Love the World… [one challenging circumstance at a time]

When I issued the very first LOVE challenge to myself and asked others to join, what I really desired in this world more than anything was to be one of those “rare Christians” Tozer talked about. A Christ-follower whose very presence compelled others to become “better Christians” themselves. Apart from God, none of us are…

How to Love Your Enemy… [When Evil Strikes]
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How to Love Your Enemy… [When Evil Strikes]

If God really does exist, then why do bad things happen? Putting aside the age old question, temporarily. Do you believe evil exists?  I doubt anyone denies evil exists. I think enough evidence exists to prove otherwise. But surely, if evil exists, then goodness must exist, too. And if the battle of good and evil…

10 Ways to Respond When You’ve Been “Ghosted.”
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10 Ways to Respond When You’ve Been “Ghosted.”

We’ve all been “ghosted” in some form or fashion in our lifetime, haven’t we? Perhaps we’ve even ghosted a person or two ourselves?  “Ghosting” occurs when someone suddenly cuts off communication with you without any explanation, leaving the “ghosted” person scratching their heads wondering, What went wrong!? Ghosting, in most instances, says more about the…