Author: trotters41

A Tribute to the Humble Hymn

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by Elizabeth

Music is powerful. The songs we sing shape our worldview, and guide our relationship with God. We remember their messages much more readily in times of need.

The musical messages of my childhood were provided by hymns. I love hymns. Just singing the words of a hymn is like praying. The words are already there, I don’t have to formulate them — but they express my heart nonetheless. The struggles, the yearnings, the assurances, they are the same for me today as they were for the believers who have gone before me. Hymns connect me with the great cloud of witnesses like nothing else, and this is such a comfort to me.

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Finding My Niche Overseas {Communicating Across Boundaries guest post}

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Today I (Elizabeth) am writing about being a military kid over at Communicating Across Boundaries:

“Home is Where the Army Sends You.” For the first twelve years of my life, home was, indeed, where the Army sent us. There were good times, full of life and love and happiness. But there were bad times too, full of the ache of transition, the despair of loneliness, and a sense of awkwardness that seemed to follow me everywhere I went.

Click here to read the rest.

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On Writing

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by Elizabeth

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You may have noticed that I’ve taken quite the break from blogging. {More likely, though, you have not noticed any such break.} The break was originally unintentional, but it morphed into something more intentional. {And more on those intentions in a future post.}

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My House Shall Be Called {A Life Overseas}

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I’m writing today over at A Life Overseas. Here’s an excerpt…

– Jonathan

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I’m convinced that one of our main obstacles to loving the Church like Jesus loves the Church is that we’ve been hurt within the Church. (And for the record, we’ve probably hurt people too.) Pain from within the Church sours the whole idea and tempts us to run away. It makes us angry at the Church. It makes us ashamed of the Church.

Sometimes the pain comes from rude comments and mean spirits. Sometimes it comes from rejection. Sometimes the pain comes from outright abuse.

This should NOT BE.

If you’ve experienced pain from within the Church, I.Am.So.Sorry.

Please, hear the voice of Jesus, clearly, and with great compassion, as he says, “My House shall be called a house of PRAYER, not a house of PAIN. Those people did NOT represent me. They were thieves and robbers.”

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To read the rest of this article, visit A Life Overseas.

 

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Moto Accidents I’ve Seen

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by Elizabeth

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We drive to church. The traffic slows, there’s been an accident. There are gawkers galore, but very few helpers. As we inch closer to the collision, see flesh strewn across the road. Death. My stomach turns. I hold my breath, brace myself for more carnage ahead, hoping my children don’t observe the details too closely.

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