I am not a godly woman. I wanted to be one for a long time. I was told for most of my life I should aspire to be one. Men apparently looked for them to date and marry. Preachers spoke longingly of them as the idealized, female archetype. In fact, the only type of woman […]
When Silence is Hard
by on January 8, 2019 Leave a Comment
I thought meditation would help me feel peaceful. I did not expect it to bring on a near panic-attack. I found the book on listening prayer in my church’s library, a slim paperback, a good twenty years old. I was in my last year in college, a year before I realized I was depressed and […]
The Gift of Charismatic Tears
by on October 18, 2018 18 Comments
Here’s the truth—I cry way too easily. Whenever I am emotionally invested in anything, the tears are never far away. This has been true for me as long as I can remember and it has taken me a long lifetime to learn that these tears are a gift. In truth, they are among the most […]
What an Australian Bushfire Taught Me About Faith
by on August 12, 2018 2 Comments
By Madeline Twooney When l was six years old, l experienced my first bushfire. I grew up in Victoria, Australia, in a set of low rural mountain ranges called the Dandenongs about 35km east of Melbourne. That summer had been a real scorcher, with little rainfall and strong winds. The majestic eucalyptus gums that surrounded […]
A Wide Believing
by on April 19, 2018 19 Comments
“If I could ask anything of us, this ragged band of us looking for a way home, crossing the Jordan River, it would be to believe wider for each other.” —Hilary Yancey, Forgiving God: A Story of Faith, p. 57 I have heard that “thoughts and prayers” are not enough. This is a phrase often shouted by […]
