Salted

Last updated on: February 24, 2014 at 6:26 pm By Abra Carnahan

This sermon hit me pretty hard today. Listening through it (we missed church the Sunday it was preached) this morning was like going through a check list of the last several months of my life. God changes us through hardship — school frustrations, terrible twos, difficult relationships, through sickness, relocation difficulties, through death. Bam, bam, bam, bam! Message received. I need to stop seeing all these as God punishing me and start seeing them as God lovingly shaping me into... Read more

Loving Jesus

Last updated on: February 23, 2014 at 11:09 pm By Abra Carnahan

This morning I read the thirteenth chapter in Beautiful Outlaw. Up until this chapter, the book is filled with glory — so many wonderful truths to be absorbed. But then there is the Loving Jesus chapter and a little of the author’s frustrations with his more structured brothers slips in making it necessary for the reader to sift through the tainted insights to find the truth. His perspective isn’t new. It is typical Evangelicalisms: over emphasis on Jesus (leaving God... Read more

Don’t Waste Your ____________

Last updated on: February 21, 2014 at 9:07 pm By Abra Carnahan

“Cancer does not win if we die. It wins if we fail to cherish Christ.” -John Piper in Don’t Waste Your Cancer This little pamphlet is overflowing with wisdom, perspective and hope for those dealing with trials and afflictions. I wished I would have looked this up during my own recent cancer “scare” and years and years before that when I underwent many years of starvation from hyperemesis gravidarum — but regret won’t change anything so, I am thankful to... Read more

Anxiety: Sin, Disorder, or Both?

Last updated on: February 19, 2014 at 5:13 pm By Abra Carnahan

This is something I have a lot of experience with. I’ve fought with “normal” levels of anxiety to full blown phobias. I really appreciate and agree with John Piper’s approach to anxiety as he addressed it in today’s Ask Pastor John episode. Visit https://soundcloud.com/askpastorjohn/anxiety-sin-disorder-or-both to listen. Read more

Good Housekeeping: Making the Most of Your Mission Field

Last updated on: February 18, 2014 at 4:36 pm By Abra Carnahan

My head hits a mountain of clean laundry that is waiting to be folded on my bed. My whole body feels like a slug and all I want to do is crawl back in bed. I hear my toddler stirring in his crib. My daughter calls to me from the bathroom; she needs help finding the toothpaste. I forgot to run the dishwasher last night, so I need to wash plates and forks for breakfast. The toaster oven is smoking.... Read more

Epically Intimate

Last updated on: February 15, 2014 at 10:05 pm By Abra Carnahan

“[God] is epic and intimate. Everywhere around me, an obsession with beauty and attention to detail.” -John Eldredge in Beautiful Outlaw (pg 57) Enter to win a copy! Read more

Freedom is Waiting

Last updated on: February 15, 2014 at 9:17 pm By Abra Carnahan

To be a Christian is to be a student of Christ. Examine how much time you spend meditating on Christ and weigh it against how much time you devote to other subjects — therein you’ll find at what shrine you worship. Remember that the One True God is the only deity who doesn’t require a blood sacrifice from you — because Jesus already took your place and sacrificed His blood so you wouldn’t have to. There is always hope, joy,... Read more

Discipline

Last updated on: February 15, 2014 at 5:54 pm By Abra Carnahan

I have often resented correction. It is rarely pleasant to have my sins brought to my attention — because nobody likes being told that they are wrong, and when imperfect people confront imperfect people, sin can easily sneak into the confronter (and/or confronted) and poison the confrontation. But, Job cried out in the midst of his agony, “How many are my iniquities and my sins? Make me know my transgression and my sin. [God], why do you hide your face... Read more

Gossip

Last updated on: February 11, 2014 at 9:57 pm By Abra Carnahan

There’s no doubt that productively dealing with your inner critic or relational frustrations is a developed craft. Healthy confrontation is a challenging and lost art that, often, becomes an inferior option to the far easier emotional relief of “venting” to the closest ear. However, a chronic gossiper is often simply someone unwilling to relationally mature. It’s someone who needs emotional relief, like all of us, but hasn’t developed a pro-social way to get it. -Tyler Ward in What Gossip Actually... Read more

Your Body

Last updated on: February 11, 2014 at 4:48 pm By Abra Carnahan

Your body is not yours. You are its steward. Because you were bought with a price, all decisions about and behaviors toward your body must be run through a filter: “Does this glorify God in my body?” Jen Wilkin in Five Lies About Your Body Read more