Living life with vision
The list of small group classes offered by my church during the Lenten season included a study on the discipline of fasting. It was an odd choice for me. I am not one to intentionally skip a meal—or even a snack. Still, I wondered, could fasting help with my tendency to overeat during times of stress? How can abstaining from food bring me closer to God?
Continue reading: Book Review: The Spirituality of Fasting
These articles are truly moving reflections on sexuality, honor and raising children of character.
After Steubenville: 25 Things Our Sons need to know about Manhood – Ann Voskamp
When you’re the mother of four sons, Steubenville is about us. Steubenville is about having a conversation with sons about hard things and asking you to do holy things.
A Letter to Victoria’s Secret From a Father – Rev. Evan Dolive
I am a father of a three year old girl. She loves princesses, Dora the Explorer, Doc McStuffins and drawing pictures for people. Her favorite foods are peanut butter and jelly, cheese and pistachios. Even though she is only three, as a parent I have had those thoughts of my daughter growing up and not being the little girl she is now.
Bright Young Things? – Tara C. Samples
My faith teaches me that women and girls were divinely created in the very Image of God, and together with men and boys we are equal co-heirs of eternity with Christ. My faith teaches that this Image is reflected in a woman’s total being, her mind, her soul, her heart and, inclusive of, but not based upon her body and sexuality. But my experience teaches another lesson.
My latest book reviews posted on The High Calling…
The Commitment Engine by John Jantsch – While the author writes specifically for small business owners, this book is a must have for anyone in a leadership position.
Undaunted by Christine Caine – The author shares why she was drawn to helping victims of human trafficking.
A stunning section from the President’s Inauguration speech.
Through blood drawn by lash and blood drawn by sword, we learned that no union founded on the principles of liberty and equality could survive half-slave and half-free. We made ourselves anew, and vowed to move forward together.
Together, we determined that a modern economy requires railroads and highways to speed travel and commerce, schools and colleges to train our workers.
Together, we discovered that a free market only thrives when there are rules to ensure competition and fair play.
Together, we resolved that a great nation must care for the vulnerable, and protect its people from life’s worst hazards and misfortune.
Through it all, we have never relinquished our skepticism of central authority, nor have we succumbed to the fiction that all society’s ills can be cured through government alone. Our celebration of initiative and enterprise, our insistence on hard work and personal responsibility, these are constants in our character.
But we have always understood that when times change, so must we; that fidelity to our founding principles requires new responses to new challenges; that preserving our individual freedoms ultimately requires collective action.
Troy and I visited the MLK memorial for the first time last Saturday, before the crowds descended on Inaugural weekend. The series of quotes inscribed on the wall gave voice to the resolute image of King, standing arms folded with eyes focused on the future.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
“I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits.”
Taking the time to examine King’s words and actions will continue to challenge us today.
Reflections on Martin Luther King Day, 2013:
MLK Jr and Leadership by Chris Marlow of Help One Now
Bible Wars: Do We Know What King Actually Did? by Rose Marie Berger
What Would Dr. King’s Fight Be Today? by Elaina Ramsey
MLK and Les Miserables’ Case for a Socialism of Grace by Jarrod McKenna
King, Clowns, and the Third Way by Mark Sandlin
Martin Luther King and Liberal Theology by James F. McGrath
