Posts by Lisa Jansen

What Does It Mean To Fear God?

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“…Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.” Ecclesiastes 12:13 (ESV) Fear is a feeling we have recently experienced more than we would like. Merriam Webster’s Dictionary gives several definitions for the word fear,...


Don’t Go To Church

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Imagine it’s Sunday morning back in the days when things were normal. You are busy getting yourself and/or your family ready to leave the house to go to church. Have you said or heard any of the following? “I’ll meet...


Who Is In Control?

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When I married my husband, Jim, I inherited quite a large family. But, I also wanted a child that we conceived together. We were ultimately blessed with Jeremiah, our first son. As this made twelve kids for Jim...


The Church, Race, & Jesus

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I grew up in a Pentecostal church where we clapped our hands, replied to pastor sermons with “amen” and “hallelujah,” shouting and speaking in tongues — far from the church I attend now. My current church home is 99.9% white...


Showing Up

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For half of my life, I was what you would call a “holiday Christian.” I was always searching for something, but I was searching in all the wrong places — until I finally stopped worrying what others would think. When...


What Does It Mean To Be Strong?

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Since my mother’s sudden death in 2017, people began to tell me I was “strong.” In the hospital the night she died, during the funeral, after I returned to school — “strong” was being tossed around as some sort of...


When Will Normal Show Up?

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I long for my friend, Normal, to show his face. I miss him. I am beginning to doubt he ever existed. Normal usually shows up in my psyche when life is humming along without challenge to my sense of safety....


Why Do Bad Things Happen?

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Why do bad things happen? When “bad” things happen (like death, natural disasters, pandemics, etc.) we, as human beings, tend to reflect on our current relationship (or absence of relationship) with God. We reflect on questions deep inside us: does...