As far as I can tell the only way to fall from grace is to trip over religion.   Gwen Tennant-Ketchum My friend Gwen nails it in today's quote.  And I resonate with it because religion is the very thing that is what trips me up in grace.  When I find myself struggling to extend grace, receive grace, be grace I can usually look no further than religion.  Religion forgets relationships, it forgets flexibility, it forgets that sometimes *it* isn't black and white but gray.  Religion acts better than others, "high and mighty", and as judge and jury.  So when I find myself tripping up on grace I know that somehow religion has gotten in my way.   The Pharisees in the Bible are role models for religion tripping up grace.  They clashed with Jesus all the time over issues of grace.  It's unfortunate that I can relate to them a little too well.  Hang around me long enough and you'll hear me call myself a "recovering pharisee".  I say "rec...

The God of the universe - the Creator of nitrogen and pine needles, galaxies and e-minor - loves us with a radical, unconditional, self-sacrificing love.  And what is our typical response?  We go to church, sing songs, and try not to cuss.   Francis Chan Our response to the greatness of God, to his magnitude, to his power, to his design is lackluster and anti-climatic at best.  I have a good friend who, in walking away from faith, is enamored with our galaxy.  He feels like within the context of Christian faith (maybe any faith?) he wasn't shown how splendid our universe is.  He's got a point.  Christianese says, "God said bang and there it was."  REALLY?  That's the best we can come up with?  No wonder people think we are ridiculous.   We are! And our response to the Creator of the universe is...well it's what the last part of today's quote points out.  Ugh.  And not only did God create the heavens but he created all t...