We’re preaching through Romans at our church right now, and I’ll admit that it’s a challenge. I’m more a John sort of girl. I like an image to hang my hat on, a story to dive into. Romans is short on story and long on multisyllabic words. Unpacking Paul is like opening up a set … More Helpless Christianity * 10 Minute Devotional
Today’s 10 Minute Devotional comes to us from Stephanie Belcher, host of Two Peas in a Podcast. There my friends stood; one yelling in support of one candidate, and the other screaming in support of the opposing candidate. As their opinions echoed in the room, a civilized discussion quickly became personal. Insults were thrown, attacks were … More Justifiable Anger * 10 Minute Devotional
When I lead the prayers of the people in church these days, they are long. There is a lot to mention. This week there will be more still. Some of the recent tragedies are halfway across the world. Others are a short drive away. Some make headlines. Others are privately mourned. Some involve hundreds. Others … More What to Do When There’s Not Much You Can Do * 10 Minute Devotional
At a zoo tour years ago, I stood outside an okapi’s enclosure with a zookeeper who told me this story: Okapis are sensitive creatures. They are shy and gentle animals, and they struggle particularly in situations where they are repeatedly exposed to loud noises. The Sydney zoo is fairly close to the Sydney Opera House. … More Turn Down the Noise * 10 Minute Devotional
We closed on a house at the end of August. It’s our first, and it’s the product of a ton of love and generosity from a lot of people. Buying real estate in southern California is no joke, and we couldn’t have done it on our own. The same week escrow closed, a dear friend … More Losing Home, Coming Home
An old Wheaton acquaintance of mine, Brett McCracken, created this great graphic. I came across it on Facebook last week and it stopped me in my tracks. You guys, yes. It seems so obvious – build everything on Scripture, learn from our local church and the great church tradition, spend time in nature, read books (actual, … More First Things First * 10 Minute Devotional
Our almost-5-year-old son is in a be-naughty-and-then-feel-terrible-about-it phase. He’s a really good kid almost always, but some days he gets this look in his eye (all parents know the one) and then he’ll disobey, and struggle to move on from the offense. “I’ll never be bad again, Mommy,” he told me a few days ago, … More He Loves Me, He Does * 10 Minute Devotional
I heard Andrew Peterson perform a few weeks ago. The guy’s profound and thoughtful, and I ended up scribbling a bunch of notes on the back of a pew envelope because I wanted to remember all his nuggets of wisdom. He spoke of a season of suffering that he railed against at first. No one … More The Shape of Things * 10 Minute Devotional
I’m a doer. I do things. Anybody else? Tell me that you need something done by Thursday, or the sink is stopped up, or you need 500 words on pretty much anything, and I will get on it. What I don’t want to do is be still. Ever. Being still is hard! I’m not talking about numbing-out-to-Netflix stillness. I’m talking, wait-here-until-God-does-something-because-you-are-out-of-options … More Being Still is the Hardest Thing * 10 Minute Devotional
If you haven’t seen the movie Hacksaw Ridge, it’s pretty great. Lots of gore (it’s a WWII film about one of its most deadly battles), but also a really compelling story of faith. The film got me thinking about the damage a sniper can do. In war, a sniper can take out soldiers from a … More A Sniper-free Zone * 10 Minute Devotional
Courtney Ellis 