House on the Rock

Some days I feel very much like writing with nothing much to say at all. That is a  little bit true of today, although I am reflecting on a lesson learned that has overwhelmingly helped my mornings become the highlight of my  day. I am stretching by all measures to avoid sounding self-righteous, and want to fervently remind myself and my readers that this is a  miraculous extension of God's grace, nothing I am able to do by my own power. It's also helpful if I first point out  my sinfulness. Reflecting all the way back to Christmas break, my spiritual life has been a season of drought. Busyness breeds callousness; winter makes my soul sad and slow to see God's splendor; and I oftentimes find myself using devotionals as nothing more than a break from grading or lesson planning. Our small group got a new devotional book and I thought, "this will change everything!" only to find that I didn't connect with the author's writing style and the devotional left me ...

Rumors of a winter storm were creeping into every conversation and newscast; emails about E-learning permeated our inboxes and students and teachers alike grew quite hopeful that this snowstorm would actually surmount. The crazy thing about Indiana is they could predict 1 inch and we'd get 30; they might encourage us to hunker down for nothing but a meager frost.  Much to our surprise and excitement, the phone call came on Tuesday evening: School is closed. We packed up our Settlers of Catan board and headed to Ross and Reyna's, thankful that 8pm on a Tuesday was no longer a school night. Reyna pulled off a surprising "dub" with a last-minute Victory Card pickup and we celebrated with Steak 'N Shake milkshakes, eagerly anticipating whatever weather may come.  Strangely, Wednesday brought a warm rain akin to early April days. It rained and rained, so much that puddles flooded into rivers that ran Nile-like toward the parking lot drain. "It'll freeze,"...

The prosperity gospel is without a doubt one of the most toxic and dangerous false doctrines of our day. The idea that God exists to give people health, wealth, and prosperity lies in stark contradiction to the saints of old who endured beatings, being stoned, brutal imprisonment, banishment, and battling for their lives. It does not align with the picture of Jesus, who was sent to earth, falsely accused, beaten, mocked, and crucified. Time and time again, Scripture tells stories of people who committed their lives to God and lost everything as a result. Of course, God is not a genie who only grants health and wealth. If we buy into that lie, we will immediately turn away from Him the second that our health fails or our bank account declines. It's dangerous. But I think an equally dangerous ditch to fall into is the idea that God just doles out pain and suffering and doesn't want us to be well. Sometimes I work so hard to remind myself that life isn't all about being health...