Posts by Carmen Fowler LaBerge
A Year-End Reflection: Receipts, Accounting, and God’s ROI
A different kind of year-end review—one that matters eternally It’s that time of the year— again. Back in the day we might have actually pulled out all the receipts. Today, more often than not, we allow some aggregator to tell us how much we spent on various categories of things and, we get to see…
Read MoreReclaiming the 12 Days of Christmas
Simple Ideas to Celebrate the Season All the Way to Epiphany Christmas is not just a day, it’s a season! Specifically, I’m talking about the Christmas season as the twelve days leading up to Epiphany (January 6). Think of it this way: Advent is the season of preparation, and Christmas is the season of celebration. In…
Read MoreConversation Tool: Christmas
Start the Conversation: Everywhere you look people have decorated for Christmas. But the characters of Christmas in America range from Santa to Snoopy to the Elf on the Shelf and Jack Skellington. What is Christmas, really? And who are the characters of the real Christmas story? How in the world do we Christ back into…
Read MoreChristmas Past, Present and Future
You can’t experience Christmas in the United States or Western world and not have some exposure to Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas, commonly known as A Christmas Carol. We all know the story then, right? Ebenezer Scrooge is a grouchy discontent who is visited by the ghost…
Read MoreCarmen’s Top 25 Books of 2025
Sharing my favorite books from the last year Each year, I have the privilege of receiving and reading a lot of books and interviewing many authors for The Reconnect. This is a list of my favorites from the past year, and where possible, we are including the corresponding podcast. Enjoy! (Each book image is linked…
Read MoreChrist made known in the baking and breaking of bread
Three meditations for the practice of homemade bread Today is “National Homemade Bread Day.” Funny to think there was a time when every day was homemade bread day— or else there would be no bread. But now, we can get almost any variety we desire at the grocery store. Still, there is something about the…
Read MorePardon me: Presidential Power and the Perfect Justice of God
What Trump’s latest pardons remind us about power, justice and ultimate authority Last week, President Trump issued pardons for 70-plus individuals and allies in connection with the 2020 presidential election. The wave of presidential pardons has reopened an old American tension: how much power should any one person hold in a nation built on checks…
Read MoreYour Royal Identity in a World of Fading Crowns
In Christ, you are a son or a daughter of the King— you are claimed in Christ as royalty We don’t have royalty in this country, but we kind of like to keep tabs on the Royal Family in old Mother England. And lately, there is much going on in the House of Windsor. King…
Read MoreSpotlight Interview: George Barna on America’s Lost Doctrine of Sin
Only one out of seven of self-describedAmerican Christians have a biblically-accurate understanding of sin What do you believe about sin? What does God say about sin? And if people aren’t really sinners and sin isn’t a really big deal at all, then why did Jesus die on the cross? Would it surprise you to learn…
Read MoreAll Hallows’ Eve: What is Halloween and what should Christians do with it?
Understanding the origins of Halloween — and how Christians can shine hope and light in the face of fear and darkness. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21) And Americans are spending a lot of money on Halloween. The National Retail Federation (NRF) projected Halloween spending would reach $13.1…
Read MoreSpotlight Interview: JD Greear on how to be an Everyday Revolutionary for Christ
What Christians today can learn from Daniel about living faithfully in a hostile world Are there times that you feel like you are living in a culture that is quite Babylonian in the way that it functions? And have you been wondering, how do I bring Christ to bear on the hostile and divisive culture…
Read MoreWhat’s the code you live by?
What is a life code, and why you should consider writing one— plus a free resource to get started We all have our codes, like…. If you are a doctor, you have the Hippocratic Oath, a code of ethics for all physicians. If you served in our Armed Forces (or are a part of a…
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