Archives

Hello Again, New Year, New Word…

Hello. Happy New Year. I have remained quiet on my little part of the internet for nearly a year now… I remained super busy this past year… I was homeschooling, finishing seminary, teaching martial arts, teaching Sunday School, etc… And I was quiet because a part of me doubted I had anything to say… Sometimes I…
Read More

Rethinking 1 Corinthians 13 The LOVE Chapter (plus Give-Aways)

Today my friend Lori Wildenberg is sharing how she has been rethinking 1 Corinthians 13 and she has a great giveaway going on… Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it…
Read More

Fighting for Perspective

Beep, beep, beep. I fumble for my phone to turn off the alarm and it begins – a battle for my mind, my heart, my actions. I sigh as I look at piles of books on the floor near my bedside table, random blankets scattered across the floor, and a huge pile of clothes that…
Read More

When Big Questions Loom: An Honest Response

Some questions linger unanswered – questions that weigh heavy on your heart, mind, soul, and strength. They threaten to suffocate the joy out of life and life can feel barren, hopeless, endless. Everyone else seems to have all the answers or they never had any questions. Their lives seem purposeful, full of meaning, with no…
Read More

Your Holy Calling

You have a calling. Yes, you momma with the unwashed hair and spit-up stained shirt, you have a calling. Yes you who have made a mess of things again and you wonder if God could really use you. All of us, we have a calling and God tells us to live worthy of it… And…
Read More

How to Begin Again

Every ministry I touch turns to ash, my perfectionist self handed down the verdict as I wandered memory lane. My heart squeezed tight as I felt the truth of it. God can’t use me because I just mess things up. The lie felt like a heavy weight around my shoulders and though I knew it was a lie…
Read More

Intimacy, Holiness, and Power

“Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? Who may live on your holy mountain?” Psalm 15:1 My heart echoes the cry of the psalmist. How do I get close to God? How do I develop a deep and abiding relationship? Can I move-in with God? What must I do so I can dwell with…
Read More

Grace, Discipline, and Holiness

Discipline. It is the word God gave me for 2014. I have struggled with that word all year long. And at the end of 2014 I am still only scratching the surface of what that word really means. 1. I learned that I am a fallen broken woman who cannot stay disciplined on her own…
Read More

Losing Focus and Finding it Again

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising…
Read More

Discipline and Missions

The word God gave me this year is discipline… I am flat out bad at it. I feel constrained by schedules and when I don’t accomplish tasks on the days I plan I chastise myself. But then I don’t plan my time and so I have a stack of things that need mended or a…
Read More

A Prayer for Ferguson and Our Nation

As a foreword…today I will be a guest on My Journey of Faith blogtalk radio show. It begins at 1:30 PM Central. I would love to have you join me.   Sometimes unthinkable things happen all around and there is nothing you can do to stop it. A tornado hits, a hurricane blows, or a flood…
Read More

God Did It – A Conference, A Call, and You

In case you didn’t know, last week I spoke at The M.O.M. Initiative’s Better Together Conference. Here are some pictures of the conference.   I flew on a plane to Jacksonville, Florida and met with 22 authors and speakers who shared break-out sessions and keynotes to several hundred women. It was a sweet time of…
Read More
Rejoice in the Lord

Rejoice Always…Really?

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand Philippians 4:4-5 ESV It is a constant throbbing pain. Some days I “feel” every bone in my ankles, fingers, and wrists. It is exhausting and depressing. So when I come to Philippians 4:4…
Read More

A Battle

A Battle By Angela Mackey They. People I trust and love People I hide from If THEY knew… If they knew what I thought If they realized what I have experienced THEY would call me names… Heretic. Foolish. Liar Progressive. Conservative. Wrong. Or would they? I do not know because I hide.
Read More

Complexity

Complexity By Angela Mackey Yes or No?             It isn’t that simple Yes or No?             Nuance matters Yes or No?             Is it really a dichotomy? Yes or No?             Maybe both… Yes or No?             There is so much more Yes or No?             Can’t there be shades? Greys and beiges maybe even…
Read More

Culpable?

Culpable? by Angela Mackey It happened before A leaving, a void, a rift   I see it. How it happened. Where we have been. Will they listen? Decisions tabled Waiting, flailing, languishing I see it. The coming storm. Will they listen? Do I dare? Bitterness whispers Tearing, ripping, wounding I see it. The anger roiling.…
Read More

Will the Dawn Bring Light?

Will the Dawn Bring Light? By Angela Mackey What violence done? What beauty trampled? …in the darkness …repeated in the dark Hope had bloomed But darkness brought violence Night snuffed the light Would day return? What would be left shame? destruction? Would the light make them see? Could they see …the violence? …the brokenness? …the…
Read More

Is It Just Noise?

Is it Just Noise? by Angela Mackey Go home!             Jezebel!                         Heretic!                                     False Teacher! Liberal!             Conservative!                         Progressive!                                     Fundamentalist!   Words echo through glowing screens. Communication that bites and stings and clings. When I express my thoughts will flesh and blood echo the world of glowing screens? Will I be greeted…
Read More
EnJOYing Election Season: Cultivating Joy in the Chaos

EnJOYing Election Season: Cultivating Joy in the Chaos

“Evangelicals for Harris” are all CHINOS — Christians In Name Only. God is not fooled. Neither should we be fooled. My Social Media feeds are full of vitriol…from both sides of the political divide. “How can any Christian vote for a convicted criminal, rapist, insurrectionist, etc.” And it grieves me. The Bible says that all…
Read More

Art and Beauty: How to Embrace Beauty to Change Culture

“I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way… things I had no words for.” ― Georgia O’Keeffe Sometimes we forget that God created beauty. At least we evangelicals who value utilitarianism above beauty and art do. We forget that God is the original artist. He paints on canvases…
Read More

A Reason to Go to Church: God’s Presence and Joy

“Silence is the perfectest herald of joy. I were but little happy if I could say how much.”  Claudio, Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare God does something special when His people come together as a congregation. When we sing, take communion, baptize people, listen to the preaching of God’s Word, His presence comes to us in a special…
Read More

Joy and Presence

Just a note…I have missed sharing this space with you all. So through prayer and planning, my goal is to post here twice a month. I hope you are blessed. Where Joy is Found You [the LORD] reveal the path of life to me;in your presence is abundant joy;at your right hand are eternal pleasures. Psalm…
Read More