The first thing I ever gave up for Lent was chocolate. I learned of the practice when I was 14 years old, replete with identity issues and eager to show my worth, so spiritual discipline (in every sense of the word) appealed to me deeply. Chocolate seemed like a great starter sacrifice, and it immediately… Continue reading Big Lent Revival
Here are some of my favorite accidental worship songs and their lyrics which speak to me...I hope you love them as much as I do, and that you hear your own message of God's love for you in your playlist today.
I've been a church-going girl all of my life, literally since I was born. Christianity has always played a huge role in my life and worldview, and a key expression of that for me is attending church. In my strongest moments, I show up, worship, connect with or encourage someone else there, and take home… Continue reading cross/fit
If you go to church, and especially if you're in church leadership, you probably heard about a Gallup poll published back in March reporting that church membership in the U.S. has fallen below 50% of the population for the first time in polling history. Most of us kind of knew church was trending down due… Continue reading Define “Good”
"ALL HOMOSEXUALS ARE GOING TO HELL! ALL LIARS ARE GOING TO HELL! ALL DRUNKS AND DRUGGIES ARE GOING TO HELL!..." These were the jarring yet familiar words bombasting my aunt's and my ears as we waited in line for the (beautiful! powerful! amazing!) U2 concert last weekend. I've lived in the South off and on… Continue reading Please Stop Telling Christians Not to Hate People. Here’s Why…
Happy December 1st, friends! Here's a FREE Copy of the first devotion from my book, Christmas Open House! - just in case yours hasn't come in yet. Enjoy!
This is the day I've been waiting for my whole life...or at least, since the fifth grade. That's when I entered a short story contest (a grade-wide competition for the best scary tale, in which I won second place) and first felt the call of writing on my life. As with so many creatives, the… Continue reading Book Launch Party!!!
The scene: A dark, too quiet night in the bowels of some remote location. The character: A beautiful but foolish all-American young person. The plot: S/he has come to a remote location with a group of friends to let off steam and maybe even get lucky, when suddenly (but only after receiving numerous warnings from… Continue reading Quail (or How to Become a Scary Movie Trope)
In my lifetime so far, there have been two celebrity deaths that hit me on such an inexplicably personal level of pain that I actually had to stop and cry: 1. Madeleine L'Engle (1919-2007): author of A Wrinkle in Time and so much more. Madeleine L'Engle made me want to write, to fly, to make… Continue reading I’ll Be Gone (for Chester, and all)
As part of our 2016 New Year rituals , my family decided to spend our final day of winter break this week in the garden. We made this plan expecting to uproot and discard leftover dead growth from last year's harvest, and to cover the newly bare earth with a blanket of leaves. Sounds perfectly… Continue reading new year, new…weeds?
Lucinda S. Sutton 