Since you asked, News sources I rely on
Several listeners have recently asked what news sources I rely on in preparing for each morning’s broadcast. This post was originally published on 2/3/2021 and updated 2/14/2024. Here’s a summary of my responses: What about you? What news, newsletters, aggregated lists are you relying on daily or weekly?
Read MoreA love letter
How does God love thee, let me count the ways. There are endless ways to approach the question of “how” God loves you. God loves you as Father, eldest brother, Bridegroom, Companion and Friend.God loves you from eternity past, in the present, and into eternity yet to come.God loves you with all that He is,…
Read MoreWhen too much of a good thing is no longer good
What the Stanley cup craze tells us about ourselves A woman in Roseville, California, was arrested after police found 65 stolen Stanley tumblers in the trunk of her car. The estimated value? $2500. I was intrigued when I saw the photo. The police displayed the stolen merchandise as if it was a drug bust. That’s…
Read MoreMy 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 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…
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