John Webster writes that, “Holy Communion proclaims the Lord’s death as it testifies to, points to, indicates, what was done once when Jesus the Servant of the Lord was put to death” (Confronted by Grace, 76). Correspondingly, Matthew 26:1-30 highlights Holy Communion’s formal installation by Jesus, and concludes with a hymn and a shift of […]
I’m not a very successful gardener, but I love spring. I’ve discovered that there are beauties to be found within the several-block radius my Basset Hound and I plod along daily. I love spotting Siberian squill, crocus, daffodil, forsythia, and magnolia trees in these mercurial late-March days of wind, timid sunshine, and the odd snow […]
Our perspective changes a great deal depending on where we are standing. A mountain range might look like tiny triangles from a great distance yet seem an overwhelming mass from closer up. Likewise, our perspective on central teachings from the Bible can change as we grow older. It’s not that the Bible teaches different principles; […]
Engagement party, bridal shower, wedding—with rehearsal dinner and reception—honeymoon, gender reveal party, babymoon, baby shower, baby sprinkle. “There are too many parties!” my husband remarks, after we receive yet another wedding invitation. He lists all the events our society has conceived of to celebrate the allegedly mundane steps preceding and following the central event of […]
Thomas Cole’s The Voyage of Life gives striking artistic expression to what I presume is a fairly common human experience: the maturation process from childhood through to old age. The series consists of four paintings, Childhood, Youth, Manhood, Old Age, each depicting a person of the represented age in a boat, floating down the waterway […]
Resident Assistant training took an unexpected turn when, a week before my junior year of college began, our RA supervisor took out a large bowl, filled it with water, and washed our feet, one at a time. His name was Randy. Your typical football player type, he was handsome and dated an attractive blonde. He […]
Every parting is a form of death, as every reunion is a type of heaven. Tryon Edwards All summer long, I dreaded the start of the school year. Our oldest son graduated high school this spring, and at the end of August, we packed up the car and moved him into the university dorms. I […]
Resolution 6: Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.[1] Life is short. When we were children, it seemed like ages from one birthday to the next. We marked our lives by six-month increments because years were too long to comprehend. We boasted, “I’m five and a half!” Now into my fifth […]
I had Cause to say, It is the voice of my Beloved, Behold he commeth–Skipping over the Mountains & leaping over the Hills: And I believe he never leapt over higher hills. […] Mean while there was a Scripture brought to my mind with irresistible power, I Sam. 1.18: The woman went away & did […]
Failure can and often does engender discernment, and the painful lesson usually comes courtesy of a collision with boundaries. For the most part, we crash into boundaries when we don’t recognize them or try to defy them. Our musicals may extol the virtues of defying gravity, but most of us learn firsthand that this is […]
Christians know that we are supposed to be both praying people and imitators of Christ. Do we often think about what Jesus’ prayer life teaches us about ours, though? This post looks at Christ’s prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, as recorded in Mark 14:22–42, to see what the Son’s prayer there might teach us […]
My husband, Todd, describes the year we married as one of “free-falling” through life’s milestones. He was soon to graduate from medical school which brought on a household move, followed by pregnancy, baby girl, and parenthood. . . all in 10 months after our wedding ceremony. Swoosh. Thinking back, I mostly remember the old gray […]