Thoughtful Reads: Till We Have Faces

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Learning To Live

Five years ago this week I lost a friend. The word friend doesn’t seem to even adequately describe her because she was so much more. Emily changed my life.

I met her during a very dark period in my life since I was just diagnosed as being chronically ill and I was so bitter at the prospect of being in constant pain for the rest of my life. I was grieving since my plans were upended and life wasn’t going to be what I thought. We ended up in the same dorm at college and instantly, I thought she was one of the sweetest and brightest people I’d ever met.

And then I found out she had cystic fibrosis.

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Thoughtful Reads: ESV Translation

 

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Thoughtful Reads ESV Translation

Lately, Biblical translations have come up frequently in conversations.

The reason I picked more recent translation the English Standard Version or ESV as my primarily translation is a lot more complicated than the readability or the ease of understanding the translation. These are important factors, of course, but even more important though is the quality of the translation. It is my favorite because it is the closest to the original Greek text. Let me explain:

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Thoughtful Reads: Grudem’s Systematic Theology

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For the Love of God...For the Love of God…

I started writing this series on influential books a few months ago because I believe whole heartedly that we need to understand why we believe what we believe. This is why these aren’t book reviews, but rather exhortations to think deeper, be challenged, inspired, convicted, and encouraged much along the lines of “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another” in Proverbs 27:17.

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Grace

UG Car Accident

I am alive. My husband is alive. My kids are all alive.

I am so incredibly thankful right now.

Usually the first Monday of the month I post about one of my favorite influential books, but Saturday changed things. We were going to a music festival downtown when an elderly lady tried to make a left turn. Right in front of us.

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The Pursuit of Happiness

UG Bridge and Sun

There’s been a lot of conversation floating around about happiness lately. Much of it is due to Victoria Osteen’s comments about God being happy when we are happy (more on this later!), but the truth is that our culture has been chasing happiness since this nation’s inception. Even our Constitution includes the phrase about man’s inalienable rights: “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Our culture has pervaded the church and somehow we bought into the lie happiness is one of the best things we can attain. We can’t detach it from the concept of the American dream. If we are completely honest with ourselves, we are probably all chasing some semblance of this.

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Thoughtful Reads: The Weight of Glory

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UG The Weight of Glory

I’m so excited to announce a new series! The first Monday of every month I’m going to post about one of my favorite books that has been impactful for me. These aren’t really book reviews per se because I simply want to share things that have been instrumental in shaping my thinking and walk with Christ. What I love about some of my favorite books is that it isn’t just what the book says, it is the way that it gets me thinking which is what I want to share with you. The very best books are inspiring and challenging and I find myself returning to them like old friends.

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The Beginnings of Community

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UG Sisters 1

The barista came over to me and said, “Just to let you know, we’ll be closing in a few minutes.”

I looked up in shock at the clock. It had been two hours already that my dear friend and I had sat engrossed in conversation. It felt like we had just started talking too!

I had so needed that time to connect with my friend; she’s one of those rare people who I can talk about anything with and somehow, the conversation always ends up coming back to God and is incredibly uplifting and inspiring. I walk away feeling encouraged in my faith.

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