God’s presence

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ODB: No Substitute Needed

While I was visiting my son in San Diego, we decided to go to Shadow Mountain Church to hear Dr. David Jeremiah preach. Steve and I got up early on Sunday morning and took the hour-long drive to the church. But our anticipation turned to disappointment when we discovered that Dr. Jeremiah was not there that day. “Some other guy”—a substitute—was preaching.A couple of weeks later, I was sc

ODJ: sheltered


The red and white “For Sale” sign in our garden boldly proclaims that our lives are in transition. Stepping out by faith, my husband and I are selling our home and leaving his current position of ministry to move to a community about 30 miles away. Confident that God is able, I still find myself trying to get my bearings as we wait on the unknown. I daily live between two places: at peace with

ODJ: wounded


My daughter consistently teaches me that perspective is everything when it comes to relationships. Watching her navigate the ins and outs of adolescence, I see a mirror for my own misunderstandings —what I hear is not always what was intended. She finds it easy to understand the heart behind the words coming from friends she trusts. Even the most benign of statements from someone who has wounded

ODJ: devoured

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I’m sure you’ve heard your share of extreme weight loss plans. But ingesting a parasite? A newspaper has reported that some people in Hong Kong have resorted to using parasitic worms to peel off the pounds. The worms allow people to keep eating what they want and still shed weight. But the giant intestinal roundworms, which can grow up to 15 inches in length, lay up to 200,000 eggs a day. They

ODJ: a Psalm for the Struggle

It was the kind of take-away restaurant where you stand in line, place your order and then step aside to wait for your food to appear. After I did just that, a young man took my place at the front of the queue. He ordered his food by using gestures and broken words. Paying was difficult for him because one of his wrists was turned so that his fingers pointed back to his body. And walking to a tabl

ODJ: correcting blind spots

In The Call to Joy and Pain, Ajith Fernando, a Christian leader from Sri Lanka, wrote: “The church in each culture has its own special challenges—theological blind spots that hinder Christians from growing to full maturity in Christ. . . . I think one of the most serious theological blind spots in [today’s] western church is a defective understanding of suffering. . . . The ‘good life’

ODJ: blind eyes & burning hearts


If you want to humble me, all you need to do is hand me one of those Where’s Wally? images—the ones where you attempt to locate the numerous places where the character Wally blends into the scenery. I can stare at them for hours with little result. When someone finally points out Wally’s location to me, it’s embarrassing to see him—right there in plain view! As theologian Stanley Hauerwa

ODJ: the world and I


I didn’t realise how far I was removed from reality until I read The Hunger Games. It jolted me into doing some research. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates for 2010, there are about 925 million hungry people in the world. That means 13.6 percent of the world population, or almost 1 in 7 people regularly experience hunger.
With so many modern comforts w

ODJ: lawn libraries


Nancy Johnson went for a walk and discovered a little library in a neighbour’s garden. It’s estimated that there are now between 300 to 400 small libraries lodged in people’s lawns around the world. Each has a take a book/leave a book policy. Nancy commented, “What a nifty idea . . . I like the sense of community.”
Many of us are looking for a way to connect with people who share our i