Midnight Moments

It wasn’t your typical staff meeting. There was some discussion on what was going on with the residents we ministered to, but the focus of this meeting was edifying the staff. Our director started off discussing how there are various seasons in our life. There are some seasons where God must cut things out of our lives and when there has to be death; these seasons are often painful and confusing. We’ve all walked through these seasons when God seemed to be weeding out everything in our lives. In these times, it is often difficult to see the purpose. It can often feel lonely and like God is abandoning or punishing us. But then follows seasons of growth and life; times when He lovingly replaces the things he cut away with newness, hope, and joy. Most often, we see these seasons manifest through our relationships. It’s common as we grow up and move on in our lives to naturally grow apart from childhood friends and maybe even family. But there are more painful moments when people in ou...

It’s all over Facebook and the news: transgenders in our bathrooms. I’ve seen countless rants from Christians and parents threatening to boycott businesses like Target, stating that their kids are no longer safe using public restrooms. I have a newsflash for everyone: your kids were never safe using public restrooms. Please take note, that I am not associating transgender individuals with pedophiles. I may not understand or relate to their personal struggle, but I fully accept that it is one that is real to them. My personal feelings, opinions, and morals aside: that is their reality. The issue with businesses declaring access for transgenders to use the gender bathroom that they identify with isn’t the issue. The flood gate that has been opened with this whole policy proposal is that individuals with ulterior motives are now given a free pass to victimize under the guise of transgender freedom. Yes, it is true that sexual predators don’t always necessary just victimize those ...

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding." Proverbs 3:5 "But I am not ashamed of it [the Gospel], for I know the One in whom I trust, and I am sure that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until the day of His return." - The apostle Paul from prison, 2 Timothy 1:12 For anyone growing up in a Christian context, Proverbs 3:5 is a well quoted verse. In my own life, I often find myself quoting it to give myself comfort in frustrating and uncertain circumstances or find others in my life quoting it to me for the same intention. Honestly, however, very rarely does it give me true comfort nor do I find myself truly focusing on letting the meaning of it sink it. In the Christian community it has almost become a cliche; a pat answer Christians give others and themselves when they are facing a trying situation they can't make sense of. But I do not believe this was God's intention in giving us this truth in Hi...

It’s a running joke among my co-workers that I never stay in town on weekends I’m not working. I guess it’s not so much a joke as it is reality. The truth is: I love to travel and get restless staying in one place very long. I was pondering this on a recent trip back from visiting my parents in Mississippi for Thanksgiving. Since leaving New York to attend college in Indiana, I’ve struggled with settling anywhere and really making a place “home”. This especially became difficult most recently when I moved from Lexington, Kentucky, where I had really established a great church family—to move to Macon, Georgia responding to the call God has placed on my life. I remember having some very emotional moments with Jesus in the midst of the move and shortly after. It seems like every time I get comfortable somewhere God shakes things up and moves me somewhere new. God revealed something to me on my drive back from Mississippi about this; Christians are not supposed to get comfortable....

It's an unfortunate reality that not only does politics divide our country, it divides Christ's church. In this blog, I'm not going to try to persuade which candidate to vote for, but rather I am going to attempt to urge any and all professing believers to vote responsibly. If you are voting (and I hope that you are) I encourage you to prayerfully consider your decision. I encourage you to use divine discernment in which candidate you mark your ballot for. Please, do not simply vote for the candidate that most benefits what your itching ears want to hear, but rather prayerfully invest in the candidate that will uphold God's standards in his leadership of this nation. Like Israel, the Christian community in America has fallen into the trap of relying on political structures to provide for our needs and even our desires. In 1 Samuel 8, we find that Israel has grown tired of the Judges and Priests that God has given to advise them and demands that they have a king. Sam...

It started as what was supposed to be a relaxing, restful day. I was finally redeeming the gift certificate for a massage my cheerleaders had given me the Christmas before and afterwards decided it was the perfect day to do some shopping. Actually cooking dinner seemed to be illogical given the rest of my day, so on the way home from the mall I decided to stop at Domino's and order a (gluten-free) pizza- extra cheese and mushroom. While I was sitting, waiting on my pizza to be ready, a tall, tattooed, white gentlemen in basketball shorts and a t-shirt walked in complaining about how difficult it was to find the place. As soon as he walked in the door, I felt sick to my core. He put in his pizza orders and sat down next to me. On most occasions I would offer a friendly hello and start a light conversation, but it was as if God wouldn't let me engage in conversation with this particular man for some reason. That reason would soon make itself clear and he, instead, began conversin...

I love one on one conversations. It's very fueling and inspiring for me. I find, very often, that it is during such interactions with others that God speaks to me. Today I had one of those encounters during a conversation with a good friend from church. We were discussing the issue of grace and sin and whether or not someone can still be identified with his or her sin after coming to Christ. For example, can someone who is a recovering alcoholic or who has same-sex attraction sincerely be a follower of Jesus Christ? Well, I posited the explanation that Scripturally, someone cannot accept Christ as their Redeemer and continue in a life of sin. Paul is emphatic about this throughout Romans 6 (for instance, verses 1-2  Well then, shall we go on sinning so that grace may abound? Absolutely not! We died to sin, how can we continue to live in?). It is a mockery of Christ's sacrifice to free us from the bondage of sin to continue in it. Galatians 5: 1 declares that "it is for fre...