Almost Peaceful: My Journey of Healing from Binge EatingFriendship, 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

A conversation with Jesus about bread

Lynne Baab • Thursday November 26 2020

A conversation with Jesus about bread

On this week of Thanksgiving, when so many American families are making stuffing alone rather than with extended family and friends, I want to give you some of Jesus’ thoughts on bread, and his disciples’ response. I get a kick out of the back-and-forth dialogues in the Gospels between Jesus and his followers. So often I wonder what the followers – or Jesus – were thinking when they spoke.

The story for today comes from John 6, an eventful chapter. It opens with the feeding of the five thousand. Afterwards, in the evening, Jesus withdraws to the mountain, and the disciples set...

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Three passages on God’s new things

Lynne Baab • Thursday November 19 2020

Three passages on God’s new things

In the first couple of weeks of the pandemic, while learning how to shelter in place, I felt so off balance I could hardly pray. Then, as we settled into more of a routine, I was able to begin to pray again. My prayers focused on many things, including the future. What new things might God bring to us in this pandemic, and what new directions might God lead us into afterwards? When I write “us,” I’m thinking of Dave and me, our extended family and friends, our church community, our city, our country, and the whole world.

I have prayed for...

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Partners in experiencing God’s grace

Lynne Baab • Tuesday November 10 2020

Partners in experiencing God’s grace

Forty-five years ago this month, a fellow named Dave invited me over for dinner. We had met in August at a birthday party, then in September we were assigned to the same small group at a ten-day InterVarsity Christian Fellowship conference. In October, we found ourselves in the same fellowship group at church and in a small group together. By November, we were walking on the Burke-Gilman trail in Seattle, talking about the parallels in our families of origin, and Dave invited me to dinner at his apartment. He slapped some pork chops and canned cream of mushroom soup into a...

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God's grace in Ephesians 2

Lynne Baab • Thursday October 29 2020

God's grace in Ephesians 2

I had an interesting conversation with a friend about two months into the pandemic. She was working very hard at her job (from home), and she was eating really well and getting in her 10,000 steps every day. She said that deep inside, a voice was telling her that if she did everything well enough, God would release her from the demands of sheltering in place.

I wonder if any of you have felt somewhat like my friend – now in the pandemic or at other times of your life. “If I just do things right, then God will approve of me...

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Lynne Baab • Wednesday January 22 2025

By Lynne M. Baab, author of Two Hands: Grief and Gratitude in the Christian Life

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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