Liminality

A little over a year ago I became friends with the most purposefully different person I had ever met. She was contagious, and the next thing I knew; she had swept me off my feet and allowed me to love her. This week marks the one year anniversary for Noelle and me dating. Without a doubt this past year has been the most precious year of my life. I would love to say it has been easy and there have been zero hiccups – but I can’t. Noelle and I both have strong personalities and strong egos. We see life from a passionate viewpoint and get sad when the world around us doesn’t see life the same we do. Time and time again, we both let each other down. But despite these moments of sadness and frustration, life with Noelle Spears is a one worth living. She is the most intelligent person I know (and I know a lot of smart people). She is the most radiant person I know as well. The combination of wits and beauty make her a dream come true. I don’t even care that she hates the ...

Without saying a word, Jesus opens his hands and then his shirt to show the scars he wore from the beating he bore three days ago. They were deep and painful. The blood is no longer staining his flesh but the holes are there. You can see through his wrists, and your stomach turns when you see his side. The stillness of this moment is louder than any sermon preached in history. Standing before the disciples is a man that dared to bear the deepest wounds in history. He dared to bear the scars left from the shortcomings of humanity. He dared to bear the weight of the world and found himself faithful, capable, worthy. The scars in Jesus’ flesh are the scars that he bore before becoming our Lord. He didn’t have to but he chose to. They are the scars he took on before eliminating death. They are the scars he accepted so he could proclaim love and not hate; life and not death; blessing and not cursing; a choice over damnation; light over darkness; good over evil; reunion ov...

I’ve never met more of a skeptic than me. I question everything. My usual response to most theories or questionable events is, “I’m not calling you a liar, but I just don’t believe you.” I’m a skeptic. Recently a blockbuster movie hit the main stage causing interesting discussion and influence – The Book of Eli. Everyone I know loves this movie. Well respected, intelligent people that speak truth and love into my life all love this movie. But I can’t stop questioning it. I can’t stop doubting it. I just don’t believe it could really happen. Denzel Washington survives a nuclear war and is on a mission to walk from one end of the United States to the other -- because God told him to. He encounters helpers and villains along the way. By the end of the movie he has one last battle to get where he is going. But there is a humongous twist at the end. So big that it makes me question every single detail about the story. There is no way this twist is right. There is no w...