Rewritten and Rebuilt

   Growing up, I often idolized rebels. Robin Hood, Jesse James, Spartacus, the American Revolution, who doesn't like a good rebel? At church I was told that rebellion was like witchcraft (1 Samuel 15:23 ) or that Jesus was the ultimate rebel. Well which one was it? Because He couldn't possibly be both, unless I'm missing something drastically weird about Jesus. I mean this is the man who said "Give to Cesar what is Cesar's" (Luke 20:25) when it came to money and taxes. Doesn't sound all that rebellious to me. But as a defiant teenager, I decided that rebellion sounded so exotic and thrilling, so I decided to be rebellious.    Rebel is defined as:  to oppose or disobey one in authority or control,  to act in or show opposition or disobedience. Taking this definition into account then Jesus was most definitely not a rebel, in fact he asked "Am I leading a rebellion...that you have come out with swords and clubs to capture me?" Mark 14:48 (NIV). ...

*These are the late night musings of a shift worker*    The holidays are here and everyone is happy and of good cheer! Wrong, irritability, bitterness, and depression skyrocket this time of year. We try to overcompensate for a year of not listening or valuing each other by buying exorbitant gifts that many times just put us in more debt. The days leading up to Christmas feature frazzled dads and moms bickering about gifts, bills, and what dinners to attend. Kids keep seeing more and more things they just "have to get" all the while overlooking the miles of stuff they already have. And sprinkled all around are those poor souls who by default, design, or sheer bad luck face yet another Christmas alone. Has this gotten your attention? Have I missed anything?    What happened to the joy of Christmas? I don't mean our lovely memories of Christmases past, family gatherings, or long-time traditions, wonderful as they can be. I mean the joy we had when we realized what Ch...

   I have always loved reading about verses on our adoption as children of God. One reason is it shows God's infinite love for us, reaching out to us and claiming us has His. But on a much more personal note, I was adopted by my father. I will never forget the day my dad asked me if he could be my dad, it's one of the best moments in my life. Lately, I've been going over what Paul meant when he said we are being adopted as sons and daughters. What did an adoption process look like in Biblical times? Who were considered adoptable people? So for the first time I think ever, I did non-school related research!    The first thing I looked for was who were considered adoptable people? In most cultures of the day people adopted for two reasons; 1) They had no children of their own and 2) The couples were very old and needed more people to help with tending land properties, and such. In Jewish culture and most others, not having children was a black mark against you, it was...

   Everybody has scars. Some physical scars even come with cool fun stories like the time you fell out of tree, got bit by a dog, etc. I have one that happened when a rock got embedded in my knee. I was running from my dog who was dragging a deer carcass behind her. While I running I tripped and fell in a small mud puddle. The rock came out a couple weeks later but the scar stayed. Other scars have a more painful story attached, like the time I got severely sunburned on my thighs. Everything was agony for a few days and even now my upper thighs don't tan. Some physical and almost all emotional scars have stories attached that we don't want people to know about. The first time our trust was betrayed, abuse, misuse of power, the list can go on and on. But I think the most painful scars are the ones we give ourselves, self-hatred, addictions, the things we say to ourselves late at night, shame. These are wounds meant to stay ripped open, they rarely become a scar. Yet whenever we...