My Word of the Year 2024: Small
Do you have a word for the year? I don’t know how long other people have been doing it but, for the past few years I’ve been focusing on one particular word for the year— studying it through the Scriptures, listening for it in conversations, watching for it the world, sitting with it in prayer.…
Read MoreCultivating a life of prayer and prayer in real life
Why does prayer feel so hard sometimes? Perhaps we have forgotten (or never learned) what it means to depend on God throughout our day— and by extension for our lives. And so, prayer is an intermittent part of our day at best, or altogether missing. Or we may have seasons of intensity, suffering or need…
Read MoreConsidering Our Words in the New Year
Words. What do you hear when you listen to the regular rhythm of cultural conversations today? Do you hear what I hear? I hear words that are debasing, offensive, coarse and foul. Do you hear that too? I ask because profanity is normalized— so much that we may not even notice it. What happens to…
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 23 books of 2023
Each year, I have the opportunity to read a lot of books and interview many authors for Mornings with Carmen, and I’m happy to share my favorites from 2023. Bonus: we’ve included a corresponding interview! 1. The Bible Endless are the “other” books that have been and will be written. If you have not read…
Read MoreMornings with Carmen: Next Generation Discipleship Playlist
A playlist of Mornings with Carmen episodes for parents, grandparents, teachers, youth volunteers— really anyone who cares about the next generation. We know our kids and grandkids are facing a different cultural terrain than we did, but we believe Jesus is still Lord and the gospel is still good news. This playlist will help us…
Read MoreA Thanks Giving Prayer
God on high, hear our prayers. Today we take to heart Your word which compels us to rejoice always, to pray without ceasing, and to give thanks in all circumstances, acknowledging that this is Your will for us in Christ Jesus our Lord. We give thanks in the midst of war for the Peace which…
Read MoreMornings with Carmen Playlist: Israel
Compilation of Mornings with Carmen episodes on Israel— helping us to think rightly about what is happening in the Middle East, pray for those affected by the violence and trust the Lord in uncertain times. – October 25, 2023 Understanding Zionism Carmen looks at the origins of Zionism and Christian Zionism, why the modern nation…
Read MoreIsrael’s 9/11 came on 10/7/2023
Shabbat. It is the Jewish sabbath. It is a day of rest. It is a 24 hour period of time from sundown on Friday until sundown on Saturday when Jews do no work. They turn off their phones, close their shops, gather with family and friends and observe the Sabbath. They also sleep in. So…
Read MoreSpotlight Interview: John R. Erickson shares the story behind Hank the Cowdog
Where I live, we have a version of Wallace and Junior. We have a version of Rip and Snort. We have a version of Hank the Cowdog, and we have been known as a family to say when we don’t want to do something, when we’re being asked to do something that we don’t want…
Read MoreWinning the lottery
At a Publix in Juniper Beach, Florida, a person buys a lottery ticket. Out of more than 300 million tickets sold, their ticket has the right combination of numbers matching those drawn for the $1.58 Billion Mega Millions jackpot — the third largest lottery prize ever awarded in America. How much will they actually get?…
Read MoreSpotlight Interview: Jeff Christopherson gives the Western Church a check-up
Right before ascending to heaven, Jesus gave instructions about how they are to live: Go and make disciples of every nation. Two thousand years later, this is our same mission. Simple and clear, but is the Church really living into the mission of what we are called to be and do? And most importantly— how do…
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