Christians don't have to be Dumb

People don’t have to abandon reason and intellect to be a Christian. I’ve always believed that, but last weekend I listened to a lot of people much smarter than me who believe that too. The National Conference on Christian Apologetics not only reinforced my beliefs, it also armed me with hard facts to stand on.

The dozen plus workshops and sessions I attended over the course of two days were jam packed with relevant information to help every Christian defend their faith. There is no way I can share it all with you here. But, I do want to touch on some of the highlights that impressed me the most and share a few resources you would probably find helpful. Read more

Church Mart, Part 2

From church hopping and shopping to razzle dazzle entertainment and marketing gimmicks, a consumer mentality has infiltrated Christianity. (If you missed Church Mart, Part One read it here.) Does this attitude hurt our faith and the church or is it a needed adaptation to our culture? Read more

Church Mart

The biggest shopping day of the year is almost here. On “Black Friday,” the day after Thanksgiving, people turn out in droves to begin their Christmas shopping and take advantage of all the bargains offered by the stores. My daughters and I – and sometimes others who have joined us for the holiday – spend time on Thanksgiving Day pouring over the sale papers and developing our plan of attack.

Our goal is to save money on what we would be buying for Christmas anyway. We search the flyers to find the right item with the right features at the best price. Then we determine our schedule of stops based on what stores open at what time. We are usually out the door by 4:45am and back home by 11:00am with half of our Christmas shopping done! Read more

Volleyballs aren’t enough

WilsonIf you’ve seen the movie “Castaway” then you know Wilson. Just in case you missed the blockbuster here it is in a nutshell: Tom Hanks plays Chuck Noland, a Fed Ex systems engineer who, along with a bunch of packages, washes up on a remote island after surviving a plane crash. Chuck’s loneliness drives him to create an imaginary friend out of a Wilson volleyball he found in one of the packages.

I actually bought a Wilson volleyball yesterday and had my son recreate Chuck’s “Wilson.” Then Wilson helped me with a devotional last night at a Teen MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) group. Everyone recognized Wilson immediately. Everyone thought that loneliness was Chuck’s biggest problem. And everyone loudly admitted that they experience loneliness too. Read more