Reader's Choice: Top Posts for 2017

Over the course of this year, here are the top five blogposts that you, dear readers, have chosen:

Kaitlin Curtice

Meet Kaitlin Curtice

Kaitlin is a writer, worship leader and Native American. Her book, GLORY HAPPENING, which is about finding the extraordinary presence of God in the middle of the ordinary, just went into its second printing. It reads very much like a spiritual diary, with each section offering a prayer of inspiration. Kaitlin lives with her husband and two sons. She had a lot to say about her book, and her own faith journey. Kaitlin is scheduled to be a speaker at the upcoming Why Christian? Conference in 2018. You can read Kaitlin's interview here.

Meet Greg Brown

Gregory Brown

Gregory Brown is a chaplin, writer and visiting professor at Handong Global University, living with his family in South Korea. He's authored a series of bible studies, titled the Bible Teacher's Guide. Each book in Greg's series includes scriptural references, topical questions and a study guide to facilitate group discussion. If you're interested in going deeper into some of the books of the Bible that Greg has offered, it's time well spent. You can read Greg's interview here.

Sonya Hollins

Meet Sonya Hollins

Sonya Hollins runs a publishing business (Season Press) with her husband Sean. She's also been a journalist and writer for a couple of decades. Additionally, Sonya founded and coordinates the Merze Tate Travel Club, named after the first African-American woman to graduate from Oxford University in England. In her career, Sonya has received numerous awards to reflect her commitment to making the community around her a better one. You can find Sonya's interview here.

Meet D.L. Mayfield

D.L.Mayfield

D.L. Mayfield lives in Oregon and has a ministry of living and working with immigrant families, mostly from African countries. D.L. has been doing this work with her husband for over a decade. She's also a writer and her book ASSIMILATE OR GO HOME has rapidly drawn attention for its authenticity. D.L. frequently writes on the issues of immigration and refugee reform. You can read D.L.'s interview here.

Beth Watkins

Meet Beth Watkins

If you aren't a follower of Beth Watkins' blog, you should be. She's consistently written compelling, thoughtful and insightful pieces - mostly on the subject of social justice and the church. Especially focused on refugees and immigrants. Beth spent six years working with vulnerable children and refugees in the closed countries of North Africa, South Sudan and also in Egypt. You can read Beth's interview here.

I'd like to thank all of the writers who took the time to be interviewed this year. And you, the readers of this blog, for taking the time to get to know them.

Best wishes to everyone for a wonderful New Year!

And speaking of 2018, if you know of an up-and-coming author or social justice leader that you'd like to see interviewed on this blog, please leave a comment letting me know their name, and if possible, their contact information!

Advent's Hope

This is the last week of Advent.

Traditionally, this season is one of contemplation.

Yearning.

Anticipation.

Ever growing excitement.

The spiritual equivalent of a young child sitting in a darkened living room, captivated by brilliant Christmas tree lights reflected off dozens of shiny ornaments. If Advent were a fragrance, its name would be anticipation. 

This year, I've come to hover around the story of Mary (Jesus' Mom).

It's a very familiar scene as Luke records it. (Luke 1:26-45)

The angel Gabriel visits Mary.

Gabriel tells her she's going to have a child. God's son.

Then a few days after this happens, Mary decides to go visit her (much) older cousin, Elizabeth, who was already six months pregnant with a baby who would grow up to be John the Baptist.

Elizabeth sees Mary coming and the baby jumps in her womb "for joy."

I've tended to skip over the rest of Elizabeth's response and cued in on Mary's response (traditionally called The Magnificat.)

But not this Advent.

This time,  I was stopped dead in my tracks by the tail end of Elizabeth's greeting to Mary, which is this:

"You are blessed because you believed that the Lord would do what he said."

Wow. Such a bold declaration!

If there were ever a time when we needed hope, this is it!

Trump's tweets. Mueller investigation into Russian meddling. Korean crisis. Global Warming. DACA held in limbo. A new tax bill signed into law that hardly anyone understands (including the people who voted for it).

The list goes on and it's seemingly endless.

Are you old enough to remember the old Wendy's commercial, with the spunky elderly woman who had the audacity to ask, "Where's the beef?" 

Maybe it was a simpler time. Or maybe it was the practicality of it - if you didn't like Burger King, chances are a McDonald's was bound to be across the street, flanked by a Taco Bell or Kentucky Fried Chicken at the next intersection. Whatever the fast food folks promised you, if they failed, it was no big deal. An alternative was always within walking distance.

But things aren't so simple anymore.

How do you handle an administration in Washington like the current one that can't seem to get through a day without lying about it? (It's not that I dislike republicans - it's that I can't handle consistent lying as a way to govern effectively.)

It's enough to make a person very unsettled. As in, who can you rely on these days?

Which brings us back to the main point.

Right in the middle of her own pregnancy, Mary visits her cousin Elizabeth and gets an incredible boost.

"Blessed are you because you believed what the Lord has said he would do."

There's a lot a person could say about that one sentence.

. Trust reaps dividends
. But it's important to know who you're trusting
. God honors his promises
. But you've got to know the promises to actively hope in them.

If you believe in God. And if you believe that God can't lie. Then you can safely put your hope in God. And by extension, God's son.

"Blessed are you
because you have believed
what the Lord has said he would do."

As we head into the final days of Advent, that is absolutely good news!!!

Merry Christmas everyone!

Photo Credit: top - Santa Fe Presbyterian Church
middle - praiseworld

To Kill A Mockingbird & Alabama's Senatorial Race

Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch

Where is Atticus Finch when you need him?

Remember To Kill a Mockingbird?

Atticus was Scout's widowed father. And an unswervingly moral lawyer.

Atticus, Scout and her brother Jem lived in Alabama and their story takes place during the Great Depression.

In case you don't recall it, or haven't read this marvelous, Pulitzer Prize winning novel, here's a synopsis. But you really should do yourself a favor and read Harper Lee's brilliant work, and then see the film.

At any rate, at one critical point in the story, Atticus chooses to defend Tom Robinson, a black man who has been unjustly accused of raping a white woman.

Very few white people in the town are sympathetic. So the all-white jury quickly renders a guilty verdict when Robinson goes on trial.

In the film version, Atticus camps out on the front steps of the small town jail before Robinson is sent to prison. During the night a crowd of white folks gather in front of the jail, hell-bent on lynching Robinson. Atticus stands them down. But it's Scout who diffuses the situation by simply asking one of the men how his son is doing.

It was this simple act that appealed to another person's humanity that caused the crowd of white men to walk away in embarrassment for what they were about to do.

Throughout the book and film, Atticus stands tall. Refusing to give in to group pressure, and he continues to see Robinson as a fully equal human being who was unjustly accused. (Gregory Peck won an Oscar for his role, and the screenplay won an Oscar as well.)

Harper Lee won a Pulitzer because her writing was deeply personal and deeply universal in its telling of the truth - life in a small southern town in the 1930s.

Harper Lee

With the current focus on Alabama and the senatorial campaign of Roy Moore, I wonder what Atticus and Harper Lee would have to say about it? It's ironic that the character of Atticus was a lawyer, and Moore was suspended from his federal judgeship on two occasions for refusing to follow the US Constitution and encouraging Alabama residents to follow his example.

Moore also has made a point of parading his so-called Christian values as an excuse for why people should vote for him, even though he is in the middle of a scandal involving multiple cases of pursuing teen-aged girls when he was over 30 years of age. He has also made racist remarks. He  makes no apologies for his behavior and continues to deny the allegations. And he says he'll continue to be guided by his "Christian values" if he's elected to a seat in the Senate. 

It's also highly ironic that Mr. Moore has most recently been endorsed by President Trump, who has been accused, by at least a dozen women, of inappropriate sexual contact. The Washington Post, a few weeks before election day, broke the story of a recorded interview where Mr. Trump boasts about his own sexual philosophy.  Shortly after the story broke, Mr. Trump, under pressure from his campaign heads, half-heartedly apologized. - actually it was more of an excuse for his behavior than an apology.  Now that he's president, Mr. Trump has denied that it was his voice that was recorded. He's also denied all of the allegations made during the campaign. (His accusers say otherwise.)

I feel sorry for the people of Alabama who have to face a senatorial race with such a person on the ballot. I feel sorry for the evangelical pastors of Alabama who have been telling their congregations to vote for Moore, as a test of their own Christianity. 

Most of all I weep for our nation that doesn't seem to have a single Atticus among its republican members of congress (except two) who had the courage to speak out and break away from Moore and from the president - the supposed leader of their party. The subsequent results of Alabama's special election should serve as a clarion call that the republican party would do well to heed.
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Here's the trailer for To Kill a Mockingbird, with the scene where Atticus explains to Scout why he's defending Tom Robinson.

Photo Credits: top pintrest, bottom biography.com

Simple tips for a peaceful holiday season!

True confession: over the past few days there has been a lot happening that, at times, had head my head spinning.

But then I took a deep breath. And got to thinking, soon we'll be celebrating Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and Christmas. Some of these celebrations involve gift-giving. So, in the spirit of the holidays, here's a few recommendations:

1. Give yourself the gift of more peace by unfollowing @realDonaldTrump on Twitter if you are following him. Ninety-nine percent of his tweets are false or divisive, or both. Don't worry, you won't miss important news by doing this. Speaking of which...

2. Give yourself the gift of being informed. Get in the habit of getting your news from reliable news sources. For instance, a daily newspaper that has a legitimate news team and clearly separates news from opinions. It's no accident that one of  Mr. Trump's chief targets is the news industry, which he regularly accuses of spreading "false news." If you're watching television news, steer clear of any news cast that runs segments of people yelling at each other. That's not news. That's divisiveness. Speaking of which...

3. In an effort to give the gift of peace, refuse to give in to the temptation to add to what is already a volatile level of division in the US and the world. Don't hang around divisive people. Steer clear of political quicksand when posting on Facebook or other social media. Posting your political opinions on Facebook usually won't convince anyone. Speaking of communication...

4. Give the gift of listening. Practice being an active listener. Be eager to hear what your friend is saying. Nothing enhances friendship like actively being engaged in a conversation. But at least half of that conversation, under normal circumstances, should involve being quiet and listening to what your friend has to say. While you're listening, watch body language for non-verbal clues. Here's another, very important way of communicating...

5. Become an encourager! I recently listened to a podcast by Rick Warren in which he made a simple but profound suggestion. He said get up every day and ask God (if you believe in God) to help you find a few people that you can encourage that day. It can be the cashier at the grocery store, the clerk behind the counter at the convenience store, the person sitting next to you on the subway, the bus driver on your bus, your neighbor or friend. The only caveat is that it has be genuine. If you can sincerely look at someone and tell them, "Good job!" or "Good morning!" You've just encouraged them. Speaking of which...

6. Give the gift of yourself. Go out of your way to meet people who don't look like you or think like you. This is probably the toughest gift to give. For example, volunteer at an after-school program in a neighborhood where most families don't have as much as you. Look for opportunities in your community hosted by cultural organizations or churches/other faith-based groups to get together and learn about other cultures. But be prepared, you'll probably wind up receiving more than you may give.

7. Most major religions of the world teach the importance of getting outside of ourselves. That it's better to give than to receive. To look out for each other.  Because, ultimately, what happens to the least of us has consequences for all of us. (You could probably make a case that, from God's point of view, there really is no such thing as the "least" of us. God simply doesn't have a ranking system.) Having such an inclusive world view actually promotes mental, spiritual and physical health. Speaking of which...

8. Here's something from Nicholas Kristof. It's his annual gift-giving list. More accurately, it's a really good list of alternatives to traditional gifts. These are gifts aimed to support non-profit organizations around the world that are doing amazing work in very cost-effective ways. Please take a look. It'll do your heart a world of good!

If you have any other gift-giving ideas, please feel free to comment and share them!

Photo Credits: top: 123greetings; middle afrocentriqueAZ; bottom history.com