Tag Archives | Shame

God Isn’t Fair | A Reminder About Imperfection at Christmas

One of the most powerful things about the Christmas story is that it reminds us that God isn’t fair. For years I overlooked the lineage of Jesus. In haste to meet the baby in the manger, I skipped over the long list of too-difficult-to-pronouce names and jumped right to the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. But in doing so, I missed an integral part of the story. Matthew’s account of Jesus’s genealogy, includes an incredible description that, I have never […]

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Beauty for Ashes: Overcoming Shame

As we were getting the boys ready for bed, I caught my oldest son, MJ, watching inappropriate videos on his mom’s cellphone—something he knows he’s not supposed to do. To make matters worse, when I confronted him about it, he lied to me. “I just picked up mom’s phone to check the time,” an attempt to cover his disobedience. Seeing his sweet, innocent spirit give in to the temptation to lie to his father pierced my heart. My first response […]

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A Letter to my Son, Matthew: Part 2

Read: A Letter to Matthew: Part 1 Our struggle to conceive was certainly a reminder that you were a gift from Him. Even before you were born, He knew this would be your name. Matthew means gift of God. “Meme” chose it for her son for a reason, her reason. Your mom and I chose it for our own. Some will call it southern and others may call it traditional. For us, there was no other name: Matthew Derrick Ham, Jr. […]

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