...and a time to speak...

For Abri "He must increase, but I must decrease." These were the words of John the Baptist in John 3:30 in response to his followers when they asked him about this new fellow, Jesus, who had recently burst onto the scene. Jesus and His followers were just over there baptizing people, the same way John had been, and a dispute broke out about purification. Instead of a long dissertation on theology, John simply states (among some other things) that he himself must decrease and Jesus Himself must increase. He just boils it right down. I am no longer important here, only Jesus is. My way of baptizing is coming to an end so that Jesus' way takes center stage. How impossible to say is that simple little statement in today's world? No, we aren't expecting another Messiah to enter the arena. We aren't anxiously awaiting yet another God-Man that has been promised to us through scores and scores of prophets over the last thousand years. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, already...

Pandemic 2020 prayer life has taken different directions for many people. Understandably, folks are scared, depressed or anxious at being cooped up for days on end with very little sunshine at times. Some are concerned about shortages of essential food and hygiene items. Others who have not previously had a call on their life to home school children are now being asked to do just that for weeks on end. For me, I really miss working outside the home. It is a part of my God-given personality. I need office-environment work. I am relishing this time with my kiddos to be sure, but having to use prolonged, school-related brain power is not in my wheel house and has me feeling unsettled. Long story short, we are ALL unsettled over some part of this new normal. We are getting through it with uplifting, and often hilarious, social media content and much prayer. Hopefully the latter before the former (cough... talking to myself). Also, Alexa. She is new to us and I can not be more thankful for...

The following is an open letter I recently wrote to the parents of students in the middle and high school department at my church. The opening paragraph explains the origin and purpose of the letter. Because I think this information pertains to ALL parents, I wanted to share it here as well. Parents, the spiritual climate within your own home is of paramount importance to the continuation of your child’s faith journey as an adult. I can not stress this enough. Please read on and share with parents you know who need these truths! Dear Parents, Hello! My name is Leslie Strange and I am one of the Student Ministry Life Group leaders who has the privilege of interacting with your student(s) on a weekly basis. I also recently came on staff at Judson as the Admin Assistant to Patton and Dan in the Student Ministry department as well. Patton, Presley and I met together recently to do some 2020 goal planning and one of the things that came out of our time together was this letter to you, h...

You can't out-educate holiness. You can't out-affirm Jesus. You can't out-woke God. That is just some straight up bad news for all the so-called academics out there. Progressive thinkers obsessed with reaching higher forms of thought are going to be so disappointed having wasted so much time trying to gain the world after loosing their own souls (Mark 8:36). Those quasi-spiritual influencers that consider  themselves  to be society's long-awaited for bridge builders are going to be dumbfounded when they learn that there is but one mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5). Social justice warriors are going to be so shocked when they finally learn that their woke culture, in fact, is  not more compassionate than the Father of compassion, God Himself (2 Corinthians 1:3). And how do I honestly feel about all of this? Sad. So super sad. Mostly because the leaders who fit into the above referenced categories hold themselves out to be the saviors of...

Oh happy day... it's resolution time! Or to many, not so happy day, because it's time to go about the process of re-thinking priorities, setting health goals, initiating new family directions and just generally assessing life to this point. To some, it's their most favorite thing. To others, it's terrifying and daunting. I kinda fall somewhere in the middle. I try... try ... to make fairly healthy choices throughout the year so I am not overwhelmed with the weight (no pun intended) of a complete health overhaul come every January. Thankfully my husband and I communicate easily, so we sort of work on prioritizing and re-prioritizing all throughout the year as well. However, there is always something about January that feels a bit heavy to me. Maybe it's the inevitable after effects of coming down from all the holiday festivities. We place so much time and energy into planning and preparations to make Christmas special, as we should because it deserves as much, but i...

It's Thanksgiving week and I have been thinking and thinking about a topic that would sort of set the tone for this holiday that I really do love so much. Given the name of the post, I would love to tell you that this entire post is dedicated to US and just how much Jesus thought WE were worth dying for when He willingly went to that cross. And here's the thing, we were. Clearly we were because He went through with it. He didn't change His mind last second and call down the 12 legions of angels to avenge Him like He said He could have (Matthew 26:53). No, He went of His own accord, stood accused during a bogus trial and ultimately gave up His life so that His purpose would be fulfilled. So, yes, we were worth dying for. Thank you, Jesus!! But, that's not what this post is about at all. This one is all about HIM being worth dying for. Let me explain with a scripture: Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and ...

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:4-5 These past several weeks, God has been talking to me a lot about the idea of bearing fruit. He has reminded me more than once to go back and remember who my intended audience was when I first started this writing adventure a year or so ago. And who is that? It's the people that I am surrounded by every day in my hometown. It's the people I do life with at school, church, the grocery store, the mall, restaurants, etc. some of whom I know intimately, but most of whom are strangers. Most of these people are fairly well off, upper middle class and at least semi-conservative. I list these things not as positives or negatives, it's just a matter of defining who I see on a daily ba...