Author: LAH

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Are You a Bible-Believing Christian?

Which parts of the Bible do you believe?

As good Evangelicals, we like to say, “All of it!” We believe the Bible to be the inerrant, holy word of God, and we “take it literally”—it means what it says. How often do we hear someone say something along the lines of,  “We can’t be picking and choosing which verses God really meant.”

Yet, we do that all the time.

You’ve probably heard of A.J. Jacobs’ book, The Year of Living Biblically.  (If you haven’t read it, please do—it’s a fun book and I recommend it.) Then there’s Rachel Held Evans’ A Year of Biblical Womanhood. I have not yet read that one yet, although I intend to. Both of these authors point out that we don’t really do everything God says to do in the Bible. Most of the time, we don’t even try.

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What’s on Your Quarter?

SouthCarolinaPete’s a bit of a coin collector (I prefer to spend them), and he has a pile of “state” quarters on his dresser. I was having fun looking at the backs, seeing how each state chose to represent itself.

South Carolina did a good job of summarizing their state. Their coin includes the state bird (the Carolina Wren), the state flower (Yellow Jessamine), the state tree (Palmetto), and an outline of the state. Hmm, you think, they have birds and flowers in South Carolina. I might drop by someday.

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Are We Losing the Youth?

The news is everywhere—young adults are leaving the church! Survey after survey is finding that only a small percentage of kids raised in a Christian home continue on with church attendance as they grow up. It doesn’t matter if they’re on their own, or still living with their parents. Christian leaders are doing some serious soul searching, beating their breasts over what went wrong.

  • The Barna Group has found that “nearly three out of every five young Christians (59%) disconnect either permanently or for an extended period of time from church life after age 15.”
  • A survey by LifeWay Research found that “seven in ten Protestants ages 18 to 30 who went to church regularly in high school quit attending by age 23. A third of those had not returned by age 30. That means about one-fourth of young Protestants have left the church.”

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On Wings As Eagles

Bald Eagle_BosquedelApacheNWR-NM_LAH_9465-002The bird was soaring far over our heads, so high that I could barely identify it, but its sturdy, broad wings and dark body sandwiched between a white head and tail gave it away. I watched the Bald Eagle as it moved effortlessly across the sky. I knew its “eagle eyes” were scanning the ground for prey—an unwary gopher perhaps, although it would prefer a fish. How could it stay up there so long? Didn’t it ever get tired?

The Bible talks about eagles—they’re mentioned 29 times. Of course, the eagles in the Bible aren’t Bald Eagles. Israel is currently home to nine species of birds in the “true eagles” genus Aquila, and two more hawks have “Eagle” in their common name. Who knows which bird the authors of the Bible had in mind?

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More Good Books

I love to read, and I seem to always have at several books in progress at the same time. (Seeing that my mom was a librarian, this isn’t too surprising.) At this moment, I’m more than halfway through The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, a nonfiction book about a woman who lived in the early 20th century and the myriad medical discoveries made with the use of her cultured cells. I’m just beginning a 1,000 page fantasy tome (labeled Volume 1!) And I’m almost done with Called Out of Darkness: A Spiritual Confession, an autobiography by Anne Rice. That’s a pretty eclectic assortment, wouldn’t you say?

Over the years, I’ve enjoyed some excellent reads. These books may be old, and many are no longer in print, which is a shame. They’re much too good to be forgotten. I’ll be writing about my favorites throughout 2013. Check them out; maybe they’re become your favorites too.

In spite of the two biographies listed above, they aren’t my usual fare. However, there are some biographies of noted Christians that made a significant impression on me. These are true stories about people who can say with Paul, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1)

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Signed Up

Short-term missions. I’m for them. I’m against them. I’ve waffled back and forth for several years, seeing good points and bad points. You may have read my daughter’s post about her short-term experiences, or some of my own thoughts on the topic (see “World” listed in the Categories to the right) . We’ve supported friends and relatives going overseas, I’ve read numerous books and articles, and I’ve even accompanied Pete as he’s attended meetings and spoken at conferences on several continents. Sure, there’s always some role for me to play on those trips, some way I can be helpful, but I’ve always been there as Pete’s wife, not me.

Well, this year all that will change.

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God’s a Meanie!

“How can you be a Christian? There’s no way I’d worship a God who is that mean!”

How often have we heard God described as angry, bloodthirsty, or just plain mean? I know several people who refuse to consider Christianity because of God’s unsavory reputation. Is he really that vengeful and vindictive? I think it depends on one’s perspective.

We’re all familiar with the stories of God wiping out pagan tribes. I’ve always assumed that these peoples were so awful, so evil, that the world was better without them. They practiced human sacrifice and worshipped demons disguised as idols. God could have eliminated them by himself (as with Sodom and Gomorrah), but he used the Israelites to cleanse the land so they would understand just how bad sin is. Perhaps I’m missing something, but this is an explanation I can live with.

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What’s for Dinner?

How many of us are starting the new year on a diet? Whether you’re counting carbs, calories, and servings, or just trying to “eat a more healthy diet,” odds are that at least one of your new year’s resolutions involves food. Or maybe you hope to be more organized this year. I’m aiming for both–better eating and a saner schedule—so I’ve been going over our calendar, trying to plan out some healthy, easy to make, and inexpensive meals for the coming weeks. Even if we don’t follow my plan (and I’m quite sure we won’t), having some meal ideas thought out can salvage dinner on those days when it seems I don’t even have time to breathe, much less cook.

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Lavish

Snow GeeseAs you read this, Pete and I are off enjoying some much-needed R&R. More specifically, we’re at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, an hour plus south of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Imagine 50,000 white Snow Geese, an undulating floe covering the waters of a shallow lake, then, with a tremendous honking and flapping of wings, rising en masse to fill the dawn sky. This has to be one of God’s most incredible spectacles!

Bosque del Apache is also the winter home for thousands of Sandhill Cranes, ducks, and other birds… and hundreds of birders and nature photographers. Our coming here was my 2012 Christmas present from my dad. It’s just what I wanted.

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Cover to Cover

kidbibleDid you make New Year’s resolutions for 2013? If so, you’re certainly in good company. According to a study published in the University of Scranton’s Journal of Clinical Psychology, 45% of people usually make resolutions and another 17% make them occasionally. They go on to state that “People who explicitly make resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t explicitly make resolutions.” That’s pretty inspiring.

Most resolutions deal with self improvement issues—specifically losing weight, getting more organized, exercising—and finances. I’m not surprised. I usually resolve to lose weight and exercise more too. (I’m making good progress on the exercise vow. The weight problem? Not so much, sigh.)

About ten years ago I added a new resolution that I’m very glad I kept. I boldly promised God and myself that I would read through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.

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