Posts with the category “heart-work-and-change”

In a perfect storm of circumstantial stressors, our own sin and pride in wanting to please everyone, a real spiritual enemy who comes hard after our souls, and trudging through a world that is not kin...  Read More

This season of Lent, reflecting Jesus’s 40 days in the desert, allows us to consider who he is and what exactly he came to do....  Read More

When you’re stuck in ice or snow, you’re not going to be able to get out by yourself. Someone is going to need to reach into the ditch and help pull you out. I think “stuck” is a good way to describe ...  Read More

We live in a world where we’ve gotten used to being the ones in control of light – flip a switch on, put a fake fire up on the TV. Because of this, when I think of God as our light in the darkness, I’...  Read More

If you’ve been at Cornerstone for very long you’ve probably heard us talk about The Discipleship Pathway. Born out of a desire to help bring simplicity and order to the principles of our faith, The Di...  Read More

There is a calling in our lives as Christians and as a church to demonstrate compassion to one another and towards our neighbors. Compassion is something we are called to “put on” as part of our ident...  Read More

Jeremiah 29:11 is a well known passage.  In the NIV it reads: “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”...  Read More

Community can be a fickle thing. At times it can be easy and at other times it can be hard. It can be both exciting and a drag. Both spontaneous and obligatory. I’m pretty sure that any relationship o...  Read More

As I write this, Los Angeles is on heightened alert in response to the novel coronavirus outbreak. Our church campus will be closed for weeks to do our part to contain the spread of the virus and love...  Read More

From the printing press to the smart phone, every technological innovation is built to give us time. We used to have to wash clothes by hand, but now washing machines give us back those hours. We used...  Read More

About a decade ago, I read up on the descriptions of introverts and extroverts and exhaled a big sigh of relief. I finally had some concrete understanding and descriptions of why I as an introvert wou...  Read More

As women, we have an especially complicated relationship with the topic of confidence. From an early age, we are inundated with images that leave us constantly competing against a false standard of be...  Read More

Life is showing me I have a much stronger desire for quick fixes to my suffering than I typically care to admit. For example, as a mother, I struggle a great deal with joy in parenthood on a daily bas...  Read More

“Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever.” -Psalm 125:1It’s not hard for Christians who read their Bibles (yes, there are many who don’t, but I know ...  Read More

I’m afraid of failing.I imagine most of you can resonate with me to some degree. There are a lot of emotions tied into the experience of failing – embarrassment, shame, disappointment, anger, discoura...  Read More

All humans know that eternity is coming. A lot of us do our best to forget it. It can be disorienting to think about the fact that we will die and the universe will keep on going. Eternity is a long t...  Read More

It seems to me that only rarely does someone follow up “Hello” with “How are you doing?” Perhaps it’s because this is the age of therapy. Perhaps we fear that it’s not going to elicit a simple “Fine.....  Read More

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys ...  Read More

In May 2017, Time magazine reported on a British study that surveyed almost 1,500 teens and young adults about social media usage. The report determined that Instagram is hands down the worst platform...  Read More

I sort of assumed that you’d have to do something pretty extreme to tear your achilles tendon. Apparently hopping up and down in excitement over a friend’s good news is more than enough to hobble you ...  Read More

For years I have been summoned from sleep mid-dreamto tend to imaginary monsters and soaked sheets,to stroke sweaty heads and whisper soft prayers for sweet slumberbefore crawling back to bed myself.I...  Read More

On our way out of the house the other day my youngest daughter caught sight of her friend who lives next door. Skylar ran right over to her and—without a question, without a greeting, without so much ...  Read More

Last Fall, when the #metoo movement hit a fever pitch, I wrestled with my reluctance to join the chorus on social media. It hurt to read this status over and over again on the profiles of women I know...  Read More

Worry is normal. We worry about a lot of things. We worry about our finances. We worry about our grades. We worry about our careers. We worry about our families. We are in a fallen world filled with f...  Read More

Undocumented immigration is a very complex, multifaceted topic in our nation. It is a subject so controversial, that even mature believers can find themselves holding biblically opposing points of vie...  Read More

In recent months there have been various Los Angeles communities that have been plagued by violence. In one section of our city, around 15 people were shot in roughly a 2-week span. Another small comm...  Read More

In his book “12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You,” Tony Reinke adeptly explores spiritual struggles that use of our smart phones can potentially reveal and exacerbate in us if we are not careful. As I ...  Read More

I have so appreciated the Sunday dramatizations at Cornerstone and the literary pieces on the blog during this Lenten season. They’ve reminded me to read my Bible not only with a critical mind, but wi...  Read More

“Moving through necessary justice towards a spirit of compassion, mercy and forgiveness, even for the most vile of perpetrators, is what allows us...to display the scandalous, beautiful, life-changing...  Read More

“You see, lacking this kind of gentle humility is not just unhealthy or problematic. It’s demonic.”    Many of us have had that strange experience before. The one where you hear a Bible verse from a b...  Read More

“We don’t always have the presence of mind to figure out what to say to the Lord when we are spinning.”It was a beautiful Friday evening at sundown, and I was out walking my dog, reflecting on all tha...  Read More

“...in many ways, prosperity actually highlights my need for Christ even more.”In recent months, I have experienced the curious adventure of dreams coming true. In my growing passion to give voice to ...  Read More

“All I could do was beg God not to let her die, to give us more time with her, at least one more Mother’s Day together with her. I have never felt so helpless in all my life.”Come now, you who say, “T...  Read More

“He has been showing me that whenever I try to mother apart from Him, it not only results in sheer hypocrisy, it also hinders my kids from a clear view of Christ.”I was out with a group of new acquain...  Read More

“Writing this letter to you has not been easy. This type of letter has forced me to think deeply of my love for you and more importantly for the love of Christ for us all.”I conjunction with our “Lett...  Read More

“The Bible has always used light and darkness, blindness and sight, as metaphors for our spiritual understanding. Salvation is a matter of God opening blind eyes by shining light into the darkness. Sp...  Read More

“Through the ups and downs of life I pray that the constant reality for you is your experience of the love of God.”    In conjunction with our “Letters to a Healthy Church” sermon series, each pastor ...  Read More

“Just because something makes us feel, think, or act differently doesn’t mean that it’s addressing the core issue. It’s true in physical medicine and it’s true in spiritual growth.”A recent National G...  Read More

"Jesus gives us clothes of salvation and righteousness that we can't earn, can't buy, and can't find here on the earth."    When I was a kid, I had a children's book that told the story of The Emperor...  Read More

“You challenge me, delight me, encourage me, trust me with your heartaches and ask me for guidance. You are serious about growing in your faith. I love and cherish being one of your pastors...”    In ...  Read More