What does it mean to be a shepherd?

As you may know, we keep sheep at Makanalani. Being close to the earth & all the wonders that God has provided through nature is very precious to us. So what exactly does it mean to be a shepherd? It is, of course, caring for the physical needs of the sheep. Making sure they have […]

The Generosity of Santa

As the Blessed Season of Christmas approaches, we are, of course, presented with images not only of Our Lord Jesus Christ but also of Santa. Some Christians seem to object to Santa, who is, of course, derived from the character of Saint Nicholas. We, however, feel that there is much good to be had in […]

Sometimes a Painting is More Than Just a Painting

The Renaissance gave us a wealth of Christian art… & some of it has a message deeper than the obvious image. Take, for example, this painting by Jan Provost entitled A Christian Allegory. What are we to make of this seemingly odd imagery? When we break it down into it’s parts, things become more clear […]

Nature in Scripture

As you can see from our last few posts, Makanalani is all about nature & appreciation for the glorious natural world Our Lord has given to us. We thought it might be fun to look up some scripture that talks about nature. The Bible is wonderful poetry as well as words to live by, & the […]

Prayer & Scripture

Scripture can, of course, be a great inspiration for prayer. But it’s hard to just grab your Bible & find something that feels meaningful to you & your life at the moment. So how to do find verses to use for prayer & meditation? Fortunately, BibleGateway.com is there to help. Just go to their site & […]

A Walking Meditation

Do you always pray sitting down or knelling? Maybe in the same place? Well, there is nothing wrong with that, but sometimes, especially in summer, it’s great to get outdoors & move while you pray. The outdoors can also be an inspiration for your prayers. Here’s a walking meditation for you to try: Find something […]

Asking Questions in Prayer

Of course The Lord has all the answers… but sometimes we seem to forget that when praying. When you set down to pray, but don’t have an idea what to pray about, questions can be the answer! The questions may be small or large. They may be personal, or they may involved the whole world. They […]

Suggestions for Prayer

We know that youth sometimes have a hard time when they set down to pray (& some of us old folks too). What do you pray about? How do you know what is a good prayer? Well, we all know that there is no right or wrong to prayer. Every prayer is hear & every […]

Christianity & Disability

Sometimes an article on the web moves us in such a way that all we can really think to do is present it for your contemplation. Such is Sharifa Stevens’ essay on Christianity & disability. If you wish to go to the original link, just click here, but in this case we thought we would […]

More from Amos Yong

Yesterday we told you about Amos Yong’s book The Bible, Disability, and the Church: A New Vision of the People of God. We thought that you might also like another of his books on the subject of Christianity & the disabled, so today we are mentioning an earlier work & one more focused on Down […]