My Testimony

My Dad unrolls more tin foil, scrunching it up into a “flower” and artfully tying it on the black trash bag that was adorning me. He steps back and looks at his handiwork with pride. “You’re a princess!” he declares. My four-year-old sister grins at me. We are certain we look incredible in our trash bag dresses decked out with tin foil for decoration. We pose for pictures by the fireplace, eager to start "trick or treating" and get candy. ​ An hour later, tummy full of candy

Black spots cloud my vision as I strive to make sense of my surroundings. An acute pain in my back keeps me from being able to think rationally. The last memory I have is laughing with my team members in the van as it slowed around a hairpin turn on our way down the mountain. Our summer mission team had been in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia for the past three weeks doing volunteer work in orphanages, soup kitchens, slums, and churches. Now suddenly the van carrying half our team had

“Never lose your joy,” my professor said, looking at me intently from the front of the classroom. It was the end of the second class I had taken related to applying for my college’s study abroad program, a program that focused on global development in the world’s poorest nations. I was so excited to be a part of the program and had been working through the needed requirements. And now, my professor, the head of this program, was encouraging me: in the midst of working with gl

"9 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? 10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. 11 And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord

Some people are persuaded first by biblical argument. Others need to see what a belief actually does in a person’s life before they are ready to examine the theology behind it. I believe doctrine must ultimately stand or fall on Scripture, not on personal experience. But after making the biblical case, I also think it is worth asking what kind of fruit a belief produces. For most of my Christian life, I knew many beautiful and true things about God. I knew God loved me. I kne

Some readers will want to begin with the biblical arguments for universal restoration. Others may first want to know what believing it has actually done in my life. Scripture must decide whether the doctrine is true. My peace cannot make universal restoration biblical if Scripture does not teach it. But after studying the biblical case, the fruit of this belief has become impossible for me to ignore. Christianity had already taught me many beautiful truths about God: that He

Some people begin with theology. Others begin by asking what a theology makes possible in an actual Christian life. I believe Scripture must come first: my experience cannot establish who Jesus is. But once I became convinced from Scripture that Jesus is genuinely human rather than God incarnate, the change in my faith surprised me. I had already been taught many profoundly good things about Jesus. He was my Savior, Lord, Messiah, teacher, example, and the one I was called to