In this week’s post on character strengths, or the good fruit our lives can bear, we turn to forgiveness. This is a — if not the — foundational Christian teaching and practice, but it has become very controversial in popular culture in recent years. As society has shifted its consciousness more and more towards the … Continue reading Forgiveness
As regular readers may know, I’ve been making a point lately of using the assigned readings from the Hebrew Bible for my lectio divina practice. Because these texts often raise difficult questions, I’ve been intentional about engaging them within an integral framework to get as expansive a reading as I can. (I’ve included a brief … Continue reading Bound / Freed (An Integral Reading of Genesis 22)
If there’s one thing children are universally good at it’s knowing when something isn’t fair. Children have a keen instinct when it comes to knowing when someone is playing favorites or when something good isn’t been given out in equal portions. Knowing when we’re getting the short end of the stick is natural, but as … Continue reading Fairness
I wrote yesterday that I wanted to be intentional about spending time with the daily readings from the Hebrew Bible. Well, today’s is a doozy, filled with both the inspiring and deeply problematic elements we expect from these old stories. God has promised Abraham (at this point in the story, Abraham and Sarah are still … Continue reading Mercy in the Mess (A reflection on Genesis 16)
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the influence of our childhood experiences and family of origin on our lives. This influence is often very complicated even in the best of families, which is why so many therapeutic modalities involve a lot of reflection on these formative environments. For me, I see my family legacy … Continue reading Legacy
Matthew Root 