tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66104674451416372372024-09-14T06:45:52.235-07:00The transparent twisty turny journey of a Christian, 30-something, wife, daughter, sister, friend learning what it means to abide in Christ.Binahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00416770139806915968noreply@blogger.comBlogger281125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6610467445141637237.post-1624464329399855472014-10-31T21:15:00.002-07:002014-10-31T21:15:34.377-07:00

I have so many mixed emotions right now. I feel the pain of friends whose worlds have been turned upside down and are wrestling with hard things that will inevitably unearth more hard things. I mourn the loss of what was good at Mars Hill and the lost aspirations to address a gaping hole in American Christianity—to get back to Jesus, the Bible, and the Gospel through music, art, discourse, and

Binahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00416770139806915968noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6610467445141637237.post-79909059554883728282014-03-23T22:06:00.003-07:002014-03-23T22:06:37.052-07:00

My heart has been heavy in listening to recent conversations about church conflict/scandal.   Is it ever okay to question church leadership?   “Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of

Binahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00416770139806915968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6610467445141637237.post-48714401550510598592013-11-10T08:49:00.002-08:002013-11-10T08:49:37.246-08:00

I started reading the book, “Boundaries” by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. The book makes me very uncomfortable.  I keep thinking they must be taking liberties, or that they are coming from a lopsided overly individualistic Western worldview.  In reality, I think the main problem is that I have problems with boundaries in my life.  I think I sometimes have a hard time

Binahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00416770139806915968noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6610467445141637237.post-1020223566745081522013-11-03T20:47:00.004-08:002013-11-03T20:47:49.766-08:00

A major theme of this blog has been “what does love look like”?  In the past 5 years or so, God has been teaching me about scandalous, sacrificial love—the kind of love that does not return reviling for reviling and the kind of love that treats others better than they deserve.   God has been showing me that this is exactly the kind of love with which He loved me—He has not repaid

Binahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00416770139806915968noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6610467445141637237.post-66016097778180005552013-10-22T14:16:00.000-07:002013-10-22T14:30:45.516-07:00

  One of my favorite songs is “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing”.  It’s an old hymn and its melody and poetic lyrics are deeply moving to me because of the nostalgia it produces in me--memories of singing this song with my family in church as a little girl--but also because of what the words have come to mean to me in adulthood.  Here is one of the verses: “Here I raise my

Binahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00416770139806915968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6610467445141637237.post-48149706137677374862013-10-21T05:25:00.002-07:002013-10-21T08:36:53.941-07:00

We live in a broken world.  If you turn on the nightly news, it is pretty hard to argue with this statement.  Every day brings news of new tragedies and atrocities. If you have ever been in a family, had any friends, attended any school, worked in any environment, or had any human interaction of any kind, chances are that you have hurt and been hurt by others.  Even if it was

Binahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00416770139806915968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6610467445141637237.post-81003075881683361572013-09-25T22:27:00.002-07:002013-09-25T22:28:33.258-07:00

I am blessed to have wonderful nieces who range in age from a baby to teenagers.  As I think of what girls go through with regard to self image and worth, my heart aches for them.  My feelings are heightened when I think of all the new types of media with which they will be bombarded--telling them that they are too dark skinned or too light skinned, too fat or too skinny, too tall

Binahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00416770139806915968noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6610467445141637237.post-10145685062166811352013-08-17T17:22:00.000-07:002013-08-17T17:54:09.442-07:00

Tomorrow I turn 37 years old.  In all honesty, I have to say that my 30’s have been my least favorite age in many ways.  These years have been a wilderness for me—filled with trials, uncertainty and doubt.  My heart has been broken by people I trusted, people I was supposed to be able to trust.  My dreams have not materialized in the ways I thought they would.  I have

Binahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00416770139806915968noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6610467445141637237.post-70544709837936571962013-08-16T16:13:00.000-07:002013-08-16T16:13:22.863-07:00

A friend sent me a sermon by Tim Keller on this passage of James 1: "Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.22 

Binahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00416770139806915968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6610467445141637237.post-41215920445682168952013-05-12T07:39:00.002-07:002013-05-12T10:06:14.796-07:00

  Romans 12:15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep.”  This is my favorite verse on Mother’s Day.  Being childless is a great sorrow in my life, and yet there are aspects of it for which I am grateful.  One of the ways I am grateful for this pain in my life is that it has opened my eyes in new ways to see the outcaste and the marginalized.  There

Binahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00416770139806915968noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6610467445141637237.post-57514056428660703852012-08-28T22:20:00.001-07:002012-08-31T09:06:36.627-07:00

A friend posted a great quote on her blog: “No amount of activity in the King’s service will make up for neglect of the King Himself.”–R.M. M’Cheyne What a great quote. It kind of reminded me of this passage of Scripture: “Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's

Binahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00416770139806915968noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6610467445141637237.post-23063454135406772712012-08-27T23:33:00.006-07:002012-08-27T23:33:51.220-07:00

“No Ordinary Marriage Together for God’s Glory” by Tim Savage. “We all know that one of the greatest social scourges of our day is the failure of marriages, and not just marriages that collapse in separation and divorce, but also those which, while remaining “intact” become severely strained and emotionally scarred. One recent study reveals that nine out of ten marriages are ‘filled with

Binahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00416770139806915968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6610467445141637237.post-72064172964355470972012-08-14T23:11:00.001-07:002012-08-15T12:47:28.836-07:00

The audio from my husband, Kristian Ellefsen's, sermon on the "Children of God" from August 5th is available here: http://www.thecoramdeofellowship.org/resources/sermon-audio/Kristian preached on how God calls us to be needy. This sermon got me thinking about a lot of things. One of them is church culture. By “needy”, Kristian is not talking about being demanding of others to meet our

Binahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00416770139806915968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6610467445141637237.post-77938679268068559372012-08-12T19:10:00.000-07:002012-08-13T12:21:16.289-07:00

image courtesy of google images All I have to do is open my eyes.  Whether I am watching my television, browsing Facebook, or stepping out my front door, it beckons to me…awakening a desire that ironically has less to do with what is outside of me than what is within me.  A healthy and attractive body, a great personality, a meaningful and interesting occupation, a secure income, a

Binahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00416770139806915968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6610467445141637237.post-25441898348830607102012-07-17T22:29:00.000-07:002012-07-18T10:30:44.824-07:00

(thank you google images) It has been so long since I last posted and even longer since I last wrote something for my blog. I miss blogging.  I miss the structure of having a space where I can process what God is teaching me, bringing me through, and bringing me to.  My mind and my heart have been on overdrive in this season of life.  My energy has been focused on

Binahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00416770139806915968noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6610467445141637237.post-68868231647173459132012-04-05T08:58:00.002-07:002012-04-05T09:00:58.833-07:00

As this is Easter week, I reflect on how different Jesus is--different from my flesh, different from my greatest earthly heroes, different from the worst I see in humanity.  He is different.  And yet, He identified with us, took on our fraility, and took on the consequences of our wandering hearts.  This week, I re-read this interview by U2's Bono and I am struck again by&nbsp

Binahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00416770139806915968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6610467445141637237.post-37794137345240470872012-03-26T17:22:00.001-07:002012-03-26T17:24:23.094-07:00

I am both brokenhearted and a heartbreaker. No, I am not a heartbreaker in the Hollywood sense, nor have I ever had a broken heart in the Hollywood sense.  (In fact, I have never been through a break up at all since Kristian is the only person I have ever dated.)  Still, like any married couple, Kristian and I have broken each other’s hearts many times by our sin against each other.&

Binahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00416770139806915968noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6610467445141637237.post-87155107053953343482012-03-25T20:41:00.000-07:002012-03-25T20:41:07.883-07:00

I love the C.S. Lewis book, “The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe”.  Outside of the Bible, it may be the book that best illustrated to me what the gospel really means.  When Edmund betrays Aslan and the “deep magic from the dawn of time,” the price of that treason must be paid in order to preserve justice and goodness.  And yet out of goodness, love, and a heart to be in

Binahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00416770139806915968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6610467445141637237.post-45146809873401791012012-03-23T09:23:00.000-07:002012-03-23T09:23:36.693-07:00

I am a Christian, and my husband can tell you with confidence that I still sin regularly!  By this I mean that I live, believe, and act outside of my identity in Christ and outside of the way I learned in Him.  Sometimes I do this unknowingly and in accordance with my natural instincts, and other times I do this consciously—quite aware that my thoughts and behaviors conflict with

Binahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00416770139806915968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6610467445141637237.post-60780214291278684532012-03-22T06:25:00.001-07:002012-03-22T06:30:17.996-07:00

I recently read this terrific blogpost by my friend, Wendy: http://www.theologyforwomen.org/2012/03/dysfunctional-but-cherished-church.html To those who do not understand the gospel, the story of Hosea and Gomer in the Bible makes no sense. In it, God tells a faithful, godly, man to marry a faithless prostitute who continues to cheat on him throughout their marriage.  As the painful

Binahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00416770139806915968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6610467445141637237.post-76540809751487786622012-02-19T16:27:00.000-08:002012-02-19T16:27:10.128-08:00

1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” Last Sunday (2/12

Binahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00416770139806915968noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6610467445141637237.post-39440268501497347572012-01-30T21:31:00.000-08:002012-01-31T08:29:11.795-08:00

I once heard a pastor say that his "character had not caught up with his gifting".  While I appreciated his candor, this statement was deeply troubling to me in light of the Scriptures' description of the qualification of elders (see previous post).  I was almost equally troubled by the fact that others in the room (including his fellow elders and other pastors and Bible

Binahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00416770139806915968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6610467445141637237.post-62946468627258346112012-01-20T19:22:00.000-08:002012-01-20T19:24:31.449-08:00

In my devotions this week, I read 1 Timothy.  Reading the 1 Timothy 3 qualifications for a pastor (also called “elder” or “overseer”) was a good reminder, as my husband is a pastor.  This time while reading these qualifications/disqualifications, I was struck by the fact that a lot what makes a man qualified or disqualified to lead the flock of God are the quiet aspects of his character

Binahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00416770139806915968noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6610467445141637237.post-65861517230433724972011-11-16T17:13:00.000-08:002011-11-16T17:20:19.611-08:00

I’m an activist at heart.  I feel my blood boil when I think of the powerful exploiting the weak, the many taking advantage of the few, or the privileged oppressing the less privileged.   This does not always result in godliness in me.  It can lead me to speaking too quickly (selfishly wanting to "unload" and not lovingly and prayerfully discerning timing--which is

Binahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00416770139806915968noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6610467445141637237.post-89078138915168053802011-10-31T14:08:00.000-07:002011-10-31T14:08:29.104-07:00

Here are some notes from Kristian’s sermon last Sunday.  It will be available online soon here: http://www.gracepugetsound.com/sermons/ This was the text:  1 John 2:7-11 ESV  “Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that

Binahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00416770139806915968noreply@blogger.com0