Several years ago, my family and I spent a weekend visiting friends in North Central Indiana. Although this part of the country is home to lots of regular Indiana folks, it’s one of the places known as “Amish country,” a handful of regions in the United States that are home to large Old Order Mennonite […]
A few years ago, a study revealed the youngest generations of adults in America are also the most stressed. In one sense, this is no big surprise, given the economic and social factors influencing quality of life and near-future prospects for Millennials—adults ages 13 to 35—and for Gen Xers, whose scores are virtually tied with […]
“Boy, it would be nice if God would appear in a burning bush and tell me exactly what he wants me to do!” “I would be a lot more confident in my faith if I could see miracles happen all the time, like they did in the Bible.” Growing up in the church, and continuing […]
I’d like to introduce you to my friend Janelle Alberts (you can read more about her and her work at the end of this post). She’s got great things to say, and she says them in a way that both disarms and convicts me on a regular basis. She has a particular talent for helping […]
Ancient ruins and modern malls. Awe-filled pilgrims and stern-faced soldiers. Christian pilgrims worshiping by guitar on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and Muslim calls to prayer echoing off the stones in Jerusalem’s streets. The party atmosphere in the Jewish quarter Friday afternoon and the sacred quiet of Saturday morning, with Shabbat and its […]
Five years ago this month, I was given the opportunity to tour Israel with a group of other journalists, as a guest of the Israeli Ministry of Tourism. Fully aware that this was a rare and rich blessing, I was determined to keep my eyes open the whole time, taking in as much as I […]
In a recent post on Leadership Journal’s PARSE blog, Joel Looper quoted some incisive words from German pastor and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer: “It always seems to me that we leave room for God only out of anxiety.” This quotation–and the entire article–captured my attention because I’ve been thinking and writing a lot about worry and […]
The sensational displays of God’s power described in the Bible may seem to us as though they happened all the time, because they are collected and familiar. But like us, most people throughout history, even ancient history, never saw such faith-bolstering events. They believed based on the stories they knew and on their own experience […]
So here we are: a fresh week and a fresh crop of news. Russian soldiers are in Ukraine. Chinese families grieve those lost to a knife attack in a railway station in Kunming. Inspiring South African Olympian Oscar Pistorius stands trial for murder. A California state senator takes a leave of absence in the face […]
I don’t think I can stand to hear another sermon, or read another book, based on Acts 2:42-47. I’ve heard these sermons and read these books since the 70’s, when I was growing up at a really weird time in both the church and its surrounding culture. I suspect people have been using this short […]
© 2014 Amy Simpson.