When I was in seminary, people would often ask me if I wanted to be ordained and I would always respond the same way: I didn't think women needed to be ordained in order to do ministry, and also, Reverend Christine Kim (my maiden name) sounded like Mister Christine Kim to me. It didn't feel right, as though it went against the natural order of things.
Scott teaches English composition as a way of encouraging “reason and imagination [as] resources necessary for human flourishing”.
GROWING UP IN INDONESIA as an ethnic Chinese girl, I was often told to “go back to your country” by strangers on the street. For years, I was often reminded that I was a minority in the country I called home.
MY MOM ALWAYS SAID, “Trust God, have faith, and you’ll have no reason to worry.”
KAN SHEN ME, XUE SHEN ME. My mom would shake her head at me whenever I picked up the antics of certain movie characters. “Monkey see, monkey do.”
FEAR. SADNESS. UNCERTAINTY. These emotions used to scare me, but I’ve been discovering that they’re actually the feeling of breaking new ground.
I WAS CRYING MY EYES OUT during the final few miles of my trek into town.
“Therefore, Father, through Jesus Christ Your Son, give Your Holy Spirit to Christine. Fill her with grace and power, and make her a priest in Your Church.” I could feel the hands of the bishop on my head as he solemnly spoke these words. I thought to myself, "How on Earth did I get here?"
PARALYZED, I WATCHED in the distance as my twin brother was grabbed by the throat and hoisted into the air. As his feet dangled above the ground and his body was pinned against a tree, I stood still.
I SAT FROZEN in my seat, inwardly screaming at myself to do or say something. I looked down at my lap, where the man sitting next to me had placed his hand. Fear raced through my mind, contributing to the panic that pulsed through me.
JUDY AND I celebrated our 14th wedding anniversary this past summer. But it has only been a couple of years since I really saw how our marriage worked and what its inner dynamics were like — in fact, for the first decade, I lived with some deep misconceptions.
THOUGHTS RACED THROUGH my mind as my boyfriend wiped his forehead and nervously reached into his pocket. He lowered himself to one knee, slowly opened a small square box, and asked, “Carrie, will you marry me?”
ACCORDING TO TRIPADVISOR, you can’t experience Nashville without a visit to “Honky Tonk Row”, a downtown strip packed with world-famous venues where many great musicians started out.
The room is cold and stale, reminiscent of the grave that I was born in: It’s just me and this girl that I once knew.
IN THE PAST YEAR, I’ve enjoyed the unexpected privilege of being invited by various Christian organizations and churches to share my thoughts on how they should navigate impending uncertainties.
Our Father who stays in Heaven; Hallowed be thy forgotten name; Thy kingdom coming; Yet thy will distorted on earth as it reaches for Heaven.
Starting a reord label or, in our scenario, rebranding and releasing a record label, is not an easy process. Becoming Good Fruit Co. meant operating more like an actual business, not just as artists releasing periodic projects.
MY HUSBAND DAVID AND I have a heart for missions. We dedicated our lives to the unreached during a “Perspectives on the World Christian Movement” class in college. As we prepared for the mission field, God made it clear that we were called not to use our jobs as a cover to share the gospel overseas.
I SCRUTINIZED THE FAMILIAR SCENE before me in the living room and felt a flash of annoyance. It was a November post-church Sunday afternoon, which only meant one thing: football.
I HAD A CRAZY, vivid dream during my first year on the mission field in Southeast Asia. In it, I was surrounded by attractive women lavishing me with attention. It was a feast of carnal entertainment, and I felt helpless to resist. The fantasy came to a climax when one woman got uncomfortably close, at which point her entire face transformed into a hideous snakelike demon.
I ALWAYS ASSUMED I knew what Sabbath and rest looked like.I had a mental picture of solitude and silence, one that revolved around the idea of retreating — either into nature or into your own private space. Rest for me — especially as an introvert — meant taking a break from being around people and activity. Then my world turned upside down.
I’VE ALWAYS PRIDED MYSELF on how much work and stress I could handle. For a good portion of my life, I brought this mentality into church.
GROWING UP, I WITNESSED the hard work ethic of my dad, a chemical engineer who became an entrepreneur. He worked six, sometimes seven, days a week. I remember pleading with him to hang out with me on his days off. As you might guess, it didn’t happen very often. He was usually too tired to do anything.
IN 2012, I WAS DIAGNOSED with lupus. The disease left me wheelchair bound for half a year. Before my flare-up, I was working and going to school full time, which didn’t leave me with very much time to spend with God.
