Not My Own

On our way home from church my four year old son taught me a profound lesson he learned from his Sunday school class. The conversation between my husband and son went a little like this... Andrew: Hey buddy, what did you learn in church today? Desmond: I learned about how Jesus said, "Come follow me." Andrew: Yeah, so what does that mean? Desmond: I don't really know. They just told me to say that. Andrew: But what does it mean to follow someone? Desmond: It just means that you walk. My husband went on to explain how when you follow someone, you can literally follow them where they go but you can also follow them in a way that you do what they do. I liked my husband's answer, but honestly I liked Desmond's answer best. To follow someone, means to walk! Claiming to be a Christian essentially means one follows Christ. Breaking down the definition of "following" according to a child, sure makes our job of following Christ much simpler than e

Dear Christians, I know you think are you being helpful by telling everyone during a crisis, “ Don’t be afraid, God is in control ." I know you mean well, and I even catch myself saying this often. Yet, I never find it helpful when someone says it to me, and it almost never seems to help those I say it to. I know I know I know… you are probably thinking " Well it may not be helpful but it’s the truth! " I just think we are too eager to help “fix” others emotions when in reality we are the ones uncomfortable with their emotions.  So let’s think about the basis of fear and worry. Worry is a reaction from fear.   I tend to think of fear as a raw emotion within itself. Experiencing fear is an absolute necessary part of our survival as human beings. I know the Bible says " Do not fear " over and over again. Perhaps, this is why so many Christians including myself, quickly experience guilt after initially feeling fear. However, I think there is a big differe