Tag: Worship
-
Strengthen My Hands
Based on Nehemiah 6:9 But now, O God, strengthen my hands For I’m weary, and there’s work to be done. I know new mercies are promised each day At the rising of the sun. But now, O God, Strengthen my hands For the night seems very long. Sustain me, restore me, O God, I implore…
-
He is Good
“Safe?… Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good.” As a young adult, I read these lines from Lewis’s Narnia series. One of the greatest struggles in the early years of my life had been questioning the goodness of God. I’d already seen the bodies of adults and children destroyed by…
-
Messy Connections
This article was first published in the first edition of the Become. Journal. When my oldest was just a toddler, I was flipping through the television channels. There wasn’t the option of streaming services, just a few local stations that came through the antenna. I paused when I saw a local church come on the…
-
The Error of Emotion in Worship
This article was first published in the first edition of the Become. Journal. When I was about twelve years old, I was incredibly excited that I was old enough to go to the “cool” church worship service. Let me give you some context. This was the mid to late 90s, and most of the churches…
-
Autism and the Gospel
This article was first published June 30, 2022 in Cultivating Faith. “Yes, he has Autism.” And with those words, our world was turned upside-down. Our lives leading up to this hadn’t been smooth sailing. The pregnancy difficulties that left doctors scratching their heads, continued when our little boy was born. No one could figure out…
-
No Place to Lay My Flowers
This poem was first published in May 2013 after the loss of our third child, Ezekiel Lee. No place to lay my flowers, No place to hang my head, Instead for many hours, I grieve inside instead. No stones to pay remembrance, Or dates to commemorate, The day, the hour, the moment, You walked thru heaven’s gate. Yet, etched upon my…
-
Battlefield
This poem was first published on July 10, 2016, concerning life with mental illness. Inside this tent a battlefield,A war that rages on,voices cryout, “Give up! You’ve lost!”A whisper says, “Be Strong.”And while conflict’s barrage echoes stillinside this private place,Be not surprised, below my eyes,to see a smiling face.A warrior, wounded, battered, scarred, the stories I…
-
This Is Worship
This article was first posted on August 25, 2024 in Ezra’s World. Even before the music started in service today, the sensory seeking and anxiety started. It shouldn’t have been surprising after the first week of school and a bout of strep. My BFF texted and asked if I was at church. I replied, “At…
-
Even So
Many American Christians know the lyrics well. Either they were sung from an old hymn book, or from words projected onto a screen in a more “modern” way. The words have stayed the same. “When peace, like a river, attendeth my way. When sorrows like sea billows roll…” Many of those people know the story…
-
May my Grief and Praise be One
November is always my time of pondering things on life, death, and God in the midst of it. It’s this month that my grandpa died. It’s this month that we would be celebrating Ezekiel Lee’s birthday. This year he would have been nine. The fall before we lost Ezekiel, I remember driving and looking at…
From Ashes to Glory 