MARY K ASHLEY

I admittedly haven't considered God's mercy consistently in any deep way until the last year. It's a phrase we hear often in the Christian world.. 'His mercies are new each morning!' (Lamentations 3:23). Praise Him for that, but what does that actually mean? How does and should this profoundly impact the life of the believer? So what does the word mercy mean? To begin, the word mercy is defined in the dictionary as "compassionate or kindly forbearance shown toward an offender

Whether you have heard the term 'cancel culture' or not, I would venture to guess you may have witnessed it both played out and its after-effects either from afar or personally. Oftentimes coined as 'call-out culture' as well, this concept manifests when either an individual or group of people withdraw support (cancel) public figures, companies, or individuals after they have subjectively done offensive or inappropriate things based upon the group that is judging. Performed p

Looking around us, the realities that settle into our communities, cities, and nations, may seem to be far from a reality we would or could have dreamed up. The very finite nature of mankind has, in my opinion, been on full display for the past 11-12 months. The moment we perceived that the end was near, it proved just to be a new beginning to whatever tumultuous, difficult, or altogether unthinkable page turn from the book that was and is both 2020 and 2021. It can feel, for

"Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter." (Proverbs 24:11) I am fully aware that this blog may be one of my most unpopular, contentious, and revealing, but I am reminded often that where God places me to be and whatever He calls me to do is not for the glory of me but instead for the pursuit of truth and glory of Him. Although the title of this blog eludes to my personal account of my views changing from pro-choice t

How many times, as it relates to both critical and minor decisions have you found yourself unsure of what step you are to take next? Decisions of any size can at times feel helpless due to the innate human inability to know for certain what will come as the consequent. We are oftentimes left standing between the obvious choice of ice cream or no ice cream or the more serious election that lacks any level of discernability. In both the Christian and non-believing world, choice

I'm not immune to the desire to be in control of situations in my life. Over the last few months, I've found myself in the predicament of being unemployed in a global pandemic during the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression. Mine and other's current situations would typically beg for a certain desire for perceived control and change. If I'm being honest, though, much of the change I desired early on in this current season was inherently for my good above all e

If not, then why do we see so many Christians looking first to sinful men/women for the solution to this sin problem, before or instead of looking to God who is without sin? First, I want to be as crystal clear as possible - racism is a wretched, disgusting sin. I have seen it and heard it with my own eyes and ears being inflicted upon those in my life or in close proximity to me. Hearing or seeing racist actions makes my heart mourn for something I will never comprehend full