Friendship, Listening, and Empathy: A Prayer GuideDraw Near: A Lenten Devotional Two Hands: Grief and Gratitude in the Christian LifeSabbath Keeping: Finding Freedom in the Rhythms of Rest Fasting: Spiritual Freedom Beyond our AppetitesA Renewed SpiritualityNurturing Hope: Christian Pastoral Care in the Twenty-First CenturyThe Power of ListeningJoy Together: Spiritual Practices for Your CongregationPrayers of the New TestamentPrayers of the Old TestamentPersonality Type in CongregationsSabbathA Garden of Living Water: Stories of Self-Discovery and Spiritual GrowthDead Sea: A NovelDeadly Murmurs: A NovelDeath in Dunedin: A NovelBeating Burnout in CongregationsReaching Out in a Networked WorldEmbracing MidlifeFriendingAdvent Devotional

Holy Spirit disruptions: Free to be a little weird

Lynne Baab • Saturday September 25 2021

Holy Spirit disruptions: Free to be a little weird

When I was a kid, being “nice” was super-important. The word “nice” covered so many areas of life: how you dressed, how you talked, how often you offered to help your parents or other adults, whether you were “seen and not heard” when parents were trying to talk to friends, and whether you played well enough with other children that you didn’t need parents to intervene in conflicts. Being “nice” involved going to church, but in my family we never talked about God at home, and we never read the Bible, so as a child I didn’t make a big connection...

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Holy Spirit disruptions: Seeing people through the lens of Jesus’ cross

Lynne Baab • Friday September 17 2021

Holy Spirit disruptions: Seeing people through the lens of Jesus’ cross

My friend Elizabeth is telling me about her relationship with her brother and sister. Her parents were not happy with the some of the life choices she made as a young adult. This caused a disconnect with the whole family, and her siblings kept her at arm’s length for many years.

A few years ago, Elizabeth began meditating on Jesus’ death: the events leading up to the crucifixion, the betrayal by his friends, the pain of death on a cross, and the utter desolation of being separated from his Father. “When you really sit with those events,” Elizabeth reflects, “you can’t help...

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Holy Spirit disruptions: Detachment with love

Lynne Baab • Saturday September 11 2021

Holy Spirit disruptions: Detachment with love

A few years ago a friend started attending Alanon. She taught me a phrase she learned there: “detachment with love.” In Alanon, the phrase is used to describe a stance that supports family members and friends who suffer from addiction, without enabling or rescuing. For me, those words unlocked a door I had been trying to get through for years, not so much with addicts but with people I find challenging. I had seen the kind of detachment that hurts: family members completely rejecting other family members, friends who completely turn away from friends. I had seen the kind of love...

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Holy Spirit disruptions: Unexpected friends

Lynne Baab • Friday September 3 2021

Holy Spirit disruptions: Unexpected friends

I am almost finished re-reading the alphabet mystery series by Sue Grafton. Actually, when I got to “V is for Vengeance,” I realized I had missed it, so that book was a read, not a re-read. Grafton’s sleuth, Kinsey Millhone, has become a friend over the years as I have read the series several times. She’s not a close friend, evidenced by the fact that the last time I re-read the early books was about a decade ago, but I enjoy her quirks and the details she observes that I would miss.

For other books, the main character, or one of the...

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Featured books

Featured articles

Meeting God in Grief and Gratitude

Lynne Baab • Wednesday January 22 2025

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Lynne Baab • Friday August 11 2023

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Yes, Jesus Told Us to Pray in Secret. But He Also Prayed with His Friends.

Lynne Baab • Saturday October 9 2021

By Lynne M. Baab. Originally published in Christianity Today, July 8, 2021