Spring has sprung here in modern day Ephesus, Turkey! We are enjoying beach days and beautiful sunshine after a cold wet winter. Yesterday I became very contemplative as I watch the sunlight sparkle on surface of the sea and the fluffy clouds hover around the Greek island just across the bay.
Thank you for this, Alicia! One of my go-to phrases when I was leading a discussion group with fifth and sixth grade girls was "I honestly don't know, but I'm going to do some research and get back to you." And I had to say this a lot, because they loved to ask questions like "Why did God harden Pharaoh's heart" and "How do we know babies go to heaven if they were too young to accept Jesus" and "Were dinosaurs real?" 😅 But yes, I love the idea of the ellipsis and of humbly accepting that we don't have all the answers — and that that's okay, because we know the God who does.
And my fiancé and I enjoyed the beginnings of spring in Southeastern Pennsylvania by going for a long walk yesterday and spending time with the stray cats who live around our future home :)
YES! I say this ALL THE TIME at my youth group and honestly I think it makes them respect me more. Discipleship isn't about having all the answers; it's about walking with Jesus together, and this is such a good example of that.
I hope you're still enjoying spring :) We got snow today 🤣
Humility is SO important! How can an imperfect sinner write what is perfect? We cannot. We do not know everything there is to know, and it glorifies our All-knowing God when we acknowledge He's the only One who does. Thanks for this reminder!
"How can an imperfect sinner write what is perfect?" YES. And even as I was writing this post I was aware that my thoughts on this topic are imperfect!
I LOVE your thoughts in this post. The ellipsis is a cool way of putting it. As a pastor, I don't have all the answers, and some people in my congregation have actually really appreciated me answering questions with "I don't know."
I often say I can give people an idea or a thought but I don't have all the answers and oftentimes I have to look into things. It's been liberating for me to know that people can appreciate me not pretending to know everything and make up some wild answer because I feel the need to show that I know a lot. I probably know more than many believers do about Scripture and I should, but I'm no expert theologian and I know a lot of people smarter than me and that's okay
Yes this is so true! My husband and I run youth group at our church and the kids ask some CRAZY questions, and it is always more beautiful to say, "I'm not sure, but let's pray and study together!" It lends itself more naturally to discipleship.
This was actually water for my soul this morning! As a non-English major who frequently makes grammatical mistakes, the writing spaces can sometimes be intimidating. The same is said for wanting to write about God but never having been to seminary. I'm so grateful for Alicia and The Writer’s Cottage for this encouragement.
Spring has sprung here in modern day Ephesus, Turkey! We are enjoying beach days and beautiful sunshine after a cold wet winter. Yesterday I became very contemplative as I watch the sunlight sparkle on surface of the sea and the fluffy clouds hover around the Greek island just across the bay.
This sounds LOVELY.
Thank you for this, Alicia! One of my go-to phrases when I was leading a discussion group with fifth and sixth grade girls was "I honestly don't know, but I'm going to do some research and get back to you." And I had to say this a lot, because they loved to ask questions like "Why did God harden Pharaoh's heart" and "How do we know babies go to heaven if they were too young to accept Jesus" and "Were dinosaurs real?" 😅 But yes, I love the idea of the ellipsis and of humbly accepting that we don't have all the answers — and that that's okay, because we know the God who does.
And my fiancé and I enjoyed the beginnings of spring in Southeastern Pennsylvania by going for a long walk yesterday and spending time with the stray cats who live around our future home :)
YES! I say this ALL THE TIME at my youth group and honestly I think it makes them respect me more. Discipleship isn't about having all the answers; it's about walking with Jesus together, and this is such a good example of that.
I hope you're still enjoying spring :) We got snow today 🤣
Love this:)
Love YOU!
Amen. ✨
On the enjoying nature question... I got up in the middle of the night last night with some of my siblings to view the Lunar eclipse!
That must have been SO magical!!!
A picture I got that night 😃
Absolutely stunning
Humility is SO important! How can an imperfect sinner write what is perfect? We cannot. We do not know everything there is to know, and it glorifies our All-knowing God when we acknowledge He's the only One who does. Thanks for this reminder!
"How can an imperfect sinner write what is perfect?" YES. And even as I was writing this post I was aware that my thoughts on this topic are imperfect!
I LOVE your thoughts in this post. The ellipsis is a cool way of putting it. As a pastor, I don't have all the answers, and some people in my congregation have actually really appreciated me answering questions with "I don't know."
I often say I can give people an idea or a thought but I don't have all the answers and oftentimes I have to look into things. It's been liberating for me to know that people can appreciate me not pretending to know everything and make up some wild answer because I feel the need to show that I know a lot. I probably know more than many believers do about Scripture and I should, but I'm no expert theologian and I know a lot of people smarter than me and that's okay
Yes this is so true! My husband and I run youth group at our church and the kids ask some CRAZY questions, and it is always more beautiful to say, "I'm not sure, but let's pray and study together!" It lends itself more naturally to discipleship.
This was actually water for my soul this morning! As a non-English major who frequently makes grammatical mistakes, the writing spaces can sometimes be intimidating. The same is said for wanting to write about God but never having been to seminary. I'm so grateful for Alicia and The Writer’s Cottage for this encouragement.
Thank you Kenzie!!! 🫶