Author Archives: Joseph Givens

Learning to Reach Out Before I Break

Dear friends, I think I made a mistake. Not a big, irreversible one, but a mistake nonetheless. I made the mistake of oversharing. I caused people to worry unnecessarily, and for that, I am sorry. See, the last couple weeks have been incredibly stressful. And when I get stressed, I write. I want the thingsContinue reading “Learning to Reach Out Before I Break”

How Crisis Makes Us Hurt Each Other

I hope that this means something. I hope it can help someone, and that it gives some perspective and light in a world that often seems overwhelmingly bleak. I’ve been struggling lately. Not with depression exactly, but with the overwhelming sense of pain and suffering that I experience daily here on the border. And I’veContinue reading “How Crisis Makes Us Hurt Each Other”

Light Shines in Darkness

Do you ever feel like there’s evil creeping up on you? Like a flood is going to rush for 40 days and 40 nights and take over your heart and mind? Sometimes I do. Most of the time I’m not really a believer. Sure, intellectually I assent to the things that I profess to believe.Continue reading “Light Shines in Darkness”

Caffeinated Chronicles Part 13: From Suitcase to Soulwork – Mission Year, Pictionary, and the Blues Musician from Memphis

Oof, it’s been a while.  I believe my last post in this series had me talking about signing up for Mission Year. Wow, how am I going to cover that year in one post? Maybe I won’t.  I applied for this program out of a deep desire to find like-minded people who wanted to liveContinue reading “Caffeinated Chronicles Part 13: From Suitcase to Soulwork – Mission Year, Pictionary, and the Blues Musician from Memphis”

Not About Hell: What Jesus Really Meant by the Narrow Path

“Go in through the narrow gate. The gate that leads to destruction is broad and the road wide, so many people enter through it. But the gate that leads to life is narrow and the road difficult, so few people find it. –(Matthew 7:13, 14, Common English Bible). What does the above passage mean toContinue reading “Not About Hell: What Jesus Really Meant by the Narrow Path”

You Are Loved: The Central Message of Scripture

My friends, There is one simple truth in Scripture that can change everything about our world. But we often fail to take it seriously. Consider the words of John: “This is love: it is not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son as the sacrifice that deals with ourContinue reading “You Are Loved: The Central Message of Scripture”

Stop Striving: An Incomplete Interpretation of Psalm 46:10

What if we’ve misunderstood one of the most quoted verses in the Bible? What I’m speaking of is Psalm 46:10. I learned this verse as a young person, and we always used the King James Version (KJV), so this is how I memorized it: “Be still, and know that I am God: I will beContinue reading “Stop Striving: An Incomplete Interpretation of Psalm 46:10”

We Already Know the Answer. We Just Choose not to Live It.

I’ve been sitting with a question from the Gospel of Luke lately, a question that has echoed across centuries: “Who is my neighbor?” For context, this question comes from a moment when a lawyer was trying to trip up Jesus. This lawyer would have been extremely familiar with the most intimate details of the JewishContinue reading “We Already Know the Answer. We Just Choose not to Live It.”

Caffeinated Chronicles: Part 12–From Holding Back to Leaning In: Faith, Pacifism, and the Girl with Curly Hair

Hello, my friends, I’m sorry for the extended silence. It’s become harder to write these posts. As I get further into the story, there are more things I want to say, more details to share. Like all people, as I got older, my life became more complex, as has the story I want to tell.Continue reading “Caffeinated Chronicles: Part 12–From Holding Back to Leaning In: Faith, Pacifism, and the Girl with Curly Hair”