It happens numerous times throughout the year. At a worship service I’ll be listening and trying to sing along with the text, and suddenly a hymn about the three Holy Youths appears—the friends of Daniel who were thrown into a fiery furnace for refusing to worship King Nebuchadnezzar. The service continues, and we return to our regularly scheduled programming. To this gal in the pews, the insertion feels like an interruption—a lovely…

When you think of great military leaders throughout the world, do certain names spring to mind? If you know World War II history, you might think of Earl Mountbatten of Burma or American generals like Douglas MacArthur and Dwight D. Eisenhower. If you go further back in time, you might recall Alexander the Great or Attila the Hun.   But did the Mother of God, the Virgin Mary, make your list of…

It’s happened more than once. Way more than once. I will be standing in church during the Divine Liturgy, singing the responses, crossing myself, and literally going through the motions, but my mind is a million miles away. I’m filled with worry, with grief, with stress over my to-do list.  My heart might be heavy, or simply numb. Or, I just can’t focus. I’m sure you’ve been there too. The list of…

I grew up in a miracle-believing town. Tulsa, Oklahoma, was and still is a center of charismatic Christianity, which Merriam-Webster defines succinctly and accurately as “the religious movement that emphasizes the seeking of direct divine inspiration and extraordinary power (as of healing) given a Christian by the Holy Spirit.” Tulsa is the home of Oral Roberts University, Rhema Bible Institute, and many churches that actually schedule and promote healing services and expect…

I still remember the circle of padded chairs and the industrial carpeting  where our Wednesday night group met weekly for Scripture memory. I was a high school sophomore at the time, and our small gathering of teens met after Bible study. In our purses or backpacks we carried stacks of little 2×3” cards in protective blue vinyl holders—cards that helped us to “hide the word in our hearts,” as Psalm 119:11 instructed…