by Layton Friesen
Have we perhaps tamed Christ’s teaching on leadership? Christ is a member of the Triune God, the One by whom and for whom all things were made. Yet in a surprising move he decided that the best way display of that divine glory in human life was a slave, destined for a slave’s execution. Continue reading Following a Slave to Heaven
by Loreena Thiessen
Now is a different time. It’s different because you and your family are together at home more than you have been. You are not at school.
You do your lessons at home, maybe through a video link or lessons sent to your house. Your teacher isn’t at school either. Your parents may work from home. You play at home. You watch church at home instead of going to your regular church building on Sunday morning. Continue reading What Can You Do?
By Pedro Luis Espinales with Ken Zacharias, Director of Global Outreach
Pedro Luis Espinales, a pastor in the FIEMN, our sister conference, and member of the Anabaptist Emergency Committee, updated us on the pandemic’s effects on Nicaragua and FIEMN within it. Here’s his report with additional thoughts.
Nicaragua is vulnerable in health, economy, and environment. Since 2018 we have been in an economic recession because of the socio-political crisis. Many companies have closed and there are many unemployed people. Then COVID-19 arrived and it spread rapidly through Central America, affecting us with illnesses, deaths, and more unemployment. Continue reading What is Happening Now in Nicaragua?
by Layton Friesen
Christians have a complicated relationship with the law of Moses.
As far as we can tell, Jesus and Paul kept Moses’ law faithfully all their lives. For them this was part of how they lived their Christian lives. But in passages like 1 Cor. 15:56 and Rom. 7:5 the law is described as arousing sinfulness, goading it in almost demonic fashion. Continue reading A Cornered Cat or Hungry for Honey?
by Kevin Wiebe
Things were going just fine, or so you thought. Sure, it wasn’t perfect, but what is? Then out of nowhere what you thought was going well just turned out to have been naive optimism, and now you get to be the next person to take your turn going for a ride on the conflict carousel. You don’t know what to do and you could use some advice, but you truly love the people you are in conflict with and don’t want to be spreading gossip about them. And, yet, you feel that if there is any hope for things to get better you will need to talk to someone. So, what do you do? How do you involve someone without becoming a gossip? Continue reading Getting Help Without Being a Gossip
by Mary Ann Smith and Terry Smith
Ralph Friesen tells of how his father, Peter D. Friesen, grew up in the KG/EMC and served as a minister and, later, the lead pastor of Steinbach EMC for years while supporting his family as a businessman. His Dad suffered a stroke in his 50s and lived uncomfortably for several years before dying in his early 60s. As Friesen said in an interview elsewhere, the book intertwines two stories: his father’s and his own. Continue reading Review: Dad, God, and Me: Remembering a Mennonite Pastor and His Wayward Son
by Karla Hein
I used to think I was a calm, rational person. Then I met me, the mother of two preschoolers. My delusion shattered. I’m a nice person…the first time I have to wrestle dancing feet into a pair of jeans. Tell me to potty train a small human and my “good mommy” persona starts to slip. Most days my words are less than inspirational. Dirty dishes ferment on the counter; toys are scattered in every room. My husband comes home from a busy work day to hyper kids and a frazzled wife. Continue reading Musings from a Momma
by Layton Friesen
There is a lot of discussion about hell in Christian circles today. A big difference is made when we decide whether hell is an arbitrary punishment that God designs to make bad people suffer, or the natural consequence of choices we make here in this life. Try this analogy. It helps me think about hell. Continue reading Hell and Highwater
by Kevin Wiebe
Some people might describe me as a little bit particular. Okay, maybe more than just a bit. I am someone who likes to have things in order. I don’t like chaos, discord, or things left undone. When it comes to relationships, one of the things that has a tendency to cause me the most pain is when there are relationships in conflict where reconciliation has yet to happen and there is no clear path forward to restoration. Continue reading Not-So-Great Expectations
by Loreena Thiessen
During the long cold days of winter, except for people, all the earth seems to be asleep. Trees are bare of their leaves, plants have died back, animals hide in burrows or nest in the trunks of trees, and only a few birds flit about looking for food. Continue reading The Earth Wakes Up
