Elizabeth
(20 comments, 29 posts)
Posts by Elizabeth
Doubt and Faith: An Interview with Author Andrea Palpant Dilley
0October 11, 2012
by Elizabeth
in Inspiration
The great part about living in the town where I completed my undergraduate studies is that I get e-mails from the university about cultural and academic events. When I heard about the chance to sit again in the auditorium where I once learned about Aristotle and Descartes to listen to an author read from her new book Faith and Other Flat Tires: Searching for God on the Rough Road of Doubt, I jumped at the opportunity.
Author Andrea Palpant Dilley read several passages from her book that evening and answered audience questions in the same engaging, personable style that marks her book. Andrea’s book chronicles her struggles with doubt that led her to both leave and return to the church. I had a chance to ask Andrea questions about her journey of faith and how her experience can help churches and individuals lovingly guide fellow Christians who are also struggling with doubt.
NOTE: Check back on Tuesday, October 16 for Andrea’s advice to churches and Christian individuals about dealing with doubt.
Elizabeth: For those who haven’t read your book, give a little background to the narrative. What were the main questions you were asking of God and the other Christians around you?
Andrea: In the book, I tell a story about walking into an Episcopal cathedral in San Francisco one Sunday morning while I was in the middle of my faith crisis. I didn’t know a soul. I sat at the back of the church. When communion started, I went forward, knelt at the altar, took the sacrament, and then watched the priest stretch out his hand to bless me on my head. In that moment, I felt a strong sense of longing for God at the very same time that I felt frustrated with church and ambivalent about faith. I was struggling with a number of questions:
Crying Out to God
0October 1, 2012
Image Credit: Funzu
At church, my pastor is preaching through a series of Bible passages that all have to do with roads, drawing an analogy to the life of Christian discipleship. So far we’ve learned about the journey of the Magi in Matthew 2 and the narrow gateway to God’s Kingdom in Matthew 7. Yesterday, my pastor preached about the blind beggar in Mark 10:46-52. Here’s the passage:
46“Then they reached Jericho, and as Jesus and his disciples left town, a large crowd followed him. A blind beggar named Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) was sitting beside the road. 47When Bartimaeus heard that Jesus of Nazareth was nearby, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me!”
48“Be quiet!” many of the people yelled at him. (more…)
Around the Web
0September 28, 2012
by Elizabeth
in Inspiration
Undulatus Asperatus Cloud Formation via dt
I think they should call these ‘Stormy Sea‘ clouds, but Undulatus Asperatus sounds cool too.
What a way to show your appreciation for your pastor: The Caper.
We’re proud to call the PNW home and think you can see why in this Stunning Time Lapse Video.
The iPhone 5 maps app debacle prompts an apology from CEO Tim Cook.
Maybe you can’t pull off a huge caper, but here are some tips for Praying for Your Pastor.
Romans 8:1-2 (NKJV)
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
An Olive Tree Technophobe?
2September 21, 2012
I am something of a technophobe.
I know what you’re thinking. Yes, I work at a Bible software company.
Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net
In the bubble of college two years ago, I was vaguely aware that technology existed, that some of my classmates were getting smartphones and that people actually used computers for something other than writing papers. But my mind was tied up with others things, i.e. what I was going to do after college with a Theology major and English minor.
A year and a half after graduating and 11 months after starting at Olive Tree, I purchased my first device: a brand-new Kindle Fire HD. The package arrived after work on a Monday afternoon. I saw the package on my dining room table and immediately regarded it with suspicion. What was I actually supposed to do with this thing? I sat on the couch and it sat next to me. I stared at it and it stared back.
I took the Fire to work the next day and called over my developer coworker, Ian. He couldn’t believe I hadn’t opened it yet and helped me set it up with a few quick swipes and taps. On my own, I downloaded Olive Tree’s app, found the icon in my carousel, and confidently tapped on it. I saw the green splash screen, and immediately got this message:
BibleReader has stopped working.
Renouncing Independence
0September 6, 2012
A group of Olive Tree employees met this morning to pray for Olive Tree, our users, our industry partners, and the personal concerns of our employees. We started our time together by reading from Day 3 of Olive Tree’s 30-Day Devotional, which included a Scripture passage from John 15:7 and an excerpt from R.A. Torrey’s book How to Pray. Torrey writes:
“Now for us to abide in Christ is for us to bear the same relation to Him that the first sort of branches bear to the vine. To abide in Christ is to renounce any independent life of our own…and constantly to look to Him for the inflow of His life into us, and the outworking of His life through us. When we do this, and in so far as we do this, our prayers will obtain that which we seek from God.”
The renouncing of an independent life is true for Olive Tree as a business, but it’s also true for each individual who has devoted his or her life to Christ.
What might it look like for you to renounce your independence in favor of a Christ-governed life?
End-of-Summer Barbeque with Our Neighbors
0August 22, 2012
Is it okay to say “end of summer” already? It’s always hard to tell.
Our next-door neighbors, a mission organization called Partners International, always host a barbeque at the end of August for the three companies in our building. This year Olive Tree was assigned to bring sides and salads and you might say that we “dressed” to impress. We brought pasta salad, potato salad, coleslaw, Caesar salad, green salad, fruit salad, and deviled eggs. What more could you ask for at a barbeque?
Here are some pictures from today’s festivities:
Olive Tree’s CEO, Stephen Johnson, looks on while a Partners employee flips burgers and hot dogs.
Olive Tree and Partners employees stand in a big circle getting ready to pray before the meal.
I told you there was LOTS of food, right? The table didn’t look quite so neat after we all came through.
Tell us about your favorite summer BBQs in the comments section. What’s a barbeque food you can’t live without?
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