We who follow Jesus are supposed to desire God, and in doing so, will ourselves brute-force-style out of desiring anything else this world has to offer. Our desires are wrong and carnal. At least, that’s the message we think we’re supposed to believe about the nature of our desire. My friend and fellow Her.meneutics contributor Jen Pollock Michel contends in her new book Teach Us To Want: Longing, Ambition and the Life of Faith (IVPress, 2014) that God has a different... Read more
I’ve been talking a lot about my book lately in this space. I’m grateful for the opportunity to share its message with you! However, this week, I’m looking forward to highlighting the writing of others. Today, I want to draw your attention to an excellent resource for those who’ve experienced trauma and/or loss. Love Letters From The Edge (free today only on Kindle!) is a beautifully-written series of letters that gives voice to experience of a trauma survivor – and... Read more
Here’s a link to my interview at today’s Parse blog for church leaders at Christianitytoday.com. Please click on the [Read more] below to check out the whole conversation. Today’s interview is with Michelle Van Loon. Michelle is the author of If Only: Letting Go of Regret. She is a writer for Her.meneutics and she blogs at Pilgrim’s Road Trip. Today, we talk with Michelle about the sanctifying role of regret, the temptation to take shortcuts, and regret as a tutor. 1) Regret is an... Read more
In researching the theme of regret for my book, I learned that a whole lot of us carry regrets about the choices we make as we launch into adulthood. At that stage, we’re building our lives via both relationships and educational/career choices. Every time we make a decision to take a step in one direction, we close the door on a number of other options. After all, we can’t be in two (or more) places at once. I remember being... Read more
It’s complicated. No, that’s not a Facebook update on my relationship status.* Recently, I wrote a short bit as part of a group post for the Her.meneutics blog about the need to embrace complexity in our understanding of maturing faith. There’s complexity, then there’s the borderlands just beyond complexity. Those lands have names like Chaos, Confusion, and “It’s Complicated”. Recently, I read two books that captured the complicated nature of being a Jewish person in an Evangelical subculture: My Jesus Year:... Read more
It was an honor to put my head together with two women with deep faith and a gift for insight (who each happen to have wonderful new books out this summer) for the following post. Jen Pollock Michel kicks things off here, and Marlena Graves wraps things up, and my words are in the middle. I’ll clip a bit of Jen’s words to launch you – click on the link for the full post on today’s Her.meneutics blog. * *... Read more
A few weeks ago, I wrote a short post here about the graveyard that abuts the property on which our small townhome/apartment development was built. Every time I visit these strangers, I realize how much I want to visit the graves of my own family members. Some are buried in a swampy Jewish cemetery in south Florida. Some are in New York. And some are buried in Peoria, Illinois. My grandmother, Leah Cohen Marks, was found dead in her tiny... Read more
The final posts from the epic If Only journey `round the web are below: Aleah Marsden offers a review, a remembrance and a reflection – all in one witty post at DepthOfTheRiches.com. And wise friend Judy Allen reviews If Only at ConnectingDotsToGod.com. And Leslie Sholly is running a give-away in conjunction with her thoughts about her if only’s at Life In Every Limb. You can check out the earlier pit stops on this virtual road trip here and here. A... Read more
You know that “Five Love Languages” thing? Those books and seminars that tell you how you and those you know are wired to demonstrate and receive love? Well, according to the little quiz in the back of the very first book written in the series, one of my primary love languages is gift giving. I’ll buy that. Today is the release date of If Only: Letting Go Of Regret. It’s been available for a few weeks (here, here, and here... Read more
Pilgrim's Road Trip
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