For over 40 weeks, Emily has carried our son and daughter. We walked all day. With every step, I held Emily’s hand and she engaged every contraction with grit and determination. Over and over, I looked into her eyes and knew that my home will be wherever she is. Despite the pain, today was about a beautiful love that only seems to grow deeper and wider. Nearing the end of a long journey, we had some beautiful moments to reflect... Read more
*These reflections are taken from pieces of the last words of the last 40 persons executed in Texas. Kimberly McCarthy- “I am going home to be with Jesus.” Why are we so embarrassed to talk about Jesus? We work so hard to make sure that people don’t think we are too spiritual or religious in our modern age. There is something absurd about hiding love. Kimberly McCarthy was home sick for the great love of her life and the next,... Read more
Three men married each other in a traditional Buddhist ceremony on Valentine’s Day in Uthai Thani Province, Thailand. Joke, Bell and Art have become famous sharing their beautiful story of love and commitment. While critics have said their relationship makes a mockery of marriage, I can only say that the Thai throuple has strengthened my belief in the magical and mysterious ways of love. With the dawn of legal same-sex marriage, we can expect more and more proponents and defenders... Read more
Wielding a knife and gun, Jodi Arias brutally killed Travis Alexander. By the time her case went to trial, Arias garnered much media attention. Ultimately convicted of murder and facing the death penalty, Arias was saved by a hung jury and prosecutors decided tried again. After the second sentencing proceedings and a long deliberation, jurors voted 11 to 1 for the death penalty. In Arizona, that lone juror saved the life of Jodi Arias. When I heard a juror... Read more
*These reflections are taken from pieces of the last words of the last 40 persons executed in Texas. Elroy Chester- “A lot of people say I didn’t commit those murders, I really did it.” Before he gave the Warden the go ahead, Elroy Chester wanted to make sure that everyone knew that he killed a number of people. Upon hearing Chester’s confession, it is easy to label him a monster and be done with it. The harder task is to... Read more
*These reflections are taken from pieces of the last words of the last 40 persons executed in Texas. Jeffrey Williams- “I ain’t got no love for anyone that don’t love me.” How often do you feel this way? I’m only going to love those that love me and then I will be safe. The problem is that Jesus calls us to the dangerous spaces of a reckless love for the world. With his last words, Jeffrey Williams held on to... Read more
Kelly Gissendaner almost died for the sins of Christians. When word came in that Kelly’s execution was postponed, I knew why she was almost executed beyond a shadow of a doubt. Having grown up in Georgia and now living in Texas, one grows familiar with these execution processes. Though there was much publicity around Kelly’s case, most people are executed with little public resistance and scant media attention. If you look back a week to the night before Kelly... Read more
*These reflections are taken from pieces of the last words of the last 40 persons executed in Texas. Carroll Parr- “I’ll be back.” To believe in an afterlife is to believe that you will be back. Maybe you won’t be back to the exact same spot that you left. Since death is a tragedy for most people, I doubt that most people would want to go back to the exact spot of their death. I think that the back is... Read more
The drugs were cloudy. Though I can imagine, I have no idea what that really looks like. With a question about bad drugs being what postponed this execution, I know that this is not just about Kelly Gissendaner anymore. This is a moment that could have real repercussions for the many other people on death row. I pray that this is the moment that abolitionists in Georgia have been looking for and that these cloudy drugs will slow down... Read more
*These reflections are taken from pieces of the last words of the last 40 persons executed in Texas. Richard Cobb- “Life is death, death is life.” Matter is never created or destroyed. So what happens when we die? With the needle in his arm, Richard Cobb declared that there is life in death. The matter of Cobb or us will never created or destroyed. Life never dies. In the juxtaposition of your daily striving, I invite you to pray the... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In