resurrection – The Faith Cafe

Posted on October 3, 2025October 2, 2025 by Lori Cartmell

God Will Go Ahead of You

Do you ever get a bit anxious when faced with something completely new?

Like how to find a new job in an economy that’s unlike anything you’ve seen before? Or how to navigate a world that’s turned upside-down?

Many of us shrink from the prospect of entering uncharted territory.

And we’re not the only ones: even some animals balk when confronted with something unfamiliar.

Cows are notorious for disliking disruptions to their routines and environments. They’re particularly averse to new gates. Cows are made so nervous by new entrances and openings that they’ll stubbornly resist going through them.

This trait is so well known that it’s given rise to a phrase: “Like a cow looking at a new gate.” It means to view something with bewilderment and confusion, as though to say, “Are you serious? I’m not going through that.”

Do you feel this way when faced with the uncertainties that a new situation may bring? Is fear of the unknown keeping you from stepping forward in faith to realize your dreams?

Fear has a way of paralyzing us, so that we stay stuck where we are instead of trying something new.

But we needn’t be afraid.

God will go through the gate ahead of us.

Posted on April 18, 2025April 16, 2025 by Lori Cartmell

The Best Worst Day

Image by Dorothée QUENNESSON from Pixabay

There are some dates in history which stand out for being associated with awful events. Each year, when the calendar rolls around to these dates, we shudder in horror when we recall what happened.

Here are a few “worst days in history” that come to mind:

September 11th, 2001: the deadly World Trade Centre terrorist attacks in New York.

August 6, 1945: the dropping of a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.

June 28, 1914: the day Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated, igniting the horrific First World War which killed tens of millions.

December 26, 2004: the Boxing Day tsunami which killed hundreds of thousands.

Some horrible dates in history have specific terms associated with them, such as:

December 7, 1941: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, a date which President Roosevelt said would “live in infamy.”

October 29, 1929: called “Black Tuesday,” the worst day of a stock market crash which would send the world spiralling into the Great Depression.

What term is associated with the horrible day Jesus Christ was crucified?

“Good.” It’s called Good Friday.

But why?

Posted on October 28, 2024October 22, 2024 by Lori Cartmell

The Master of Disguise

What’s the best Halloween costume you’ve ever seen (or worn)?

I’m particularly fond of costumes involving puns.

Like the fellow who wore a tuxedo with the word “Sorry” pinned to his shirt and went out trick-or-treating as “a formal apology.”

Or the lady who taped a dozen photocopies of pictures of her cat to her shirt. Alert people recognized her costume as that of a “copy cat.”

A simple and clever Halloween costume involves wearing a Groucho Marx-style fake nose and glasses combo, along with a name tag that reads: “Blessing.” This makes you a “blessing in disguise”!

Did you know that Jesus occasionally appeared “in disguise”?

There were a few times after Jesus’ resurrection when His friends didn’t immediately recognize Him. It seems His identity was obscured from them temporarily.

Posted on April 1, 2024March 4, 2024 by Lori Cartmell

Fooled You, Satan!

What is the best April Fool’s prank in history?

Many believe that a BBC TV hoax from over 60 years ago takes the cake.

In 1957 the news show Panorama reported that, thanks to a mild winter in Switzerland, the dreaded spaghetti weevil had been eradicated. As a result, Swiss farmers had enjoyed a bumper crop of spaghetti. The programme showed farmers carefully plucking strands of spaghetti from trees.

Scores of viewers fell for the prank, calling the BBC and asking how they could grow a spaghetti tree themselves. They were advised to “place a spring of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best.”

There must be something in the water at the BBC, because in 1980 their pranksters were at it again. On April Fool’s Day they announced that Big Ben, London’s iconic clock tower, would become digital and henceforth be known as Digital Dave. This “news” produced a flood of irate calls to the station.

Other European countries are no slouches at April Fool’s pranks either.

In 1969 the Netherlands’ public broadcaster announced that government inspectors would be roving the streets armed with remote scanners, detecting people who had not paid their TV/radio tax. It was suggested that the only way to stymie the scanners was to wrap the TV or radio in aluminum foil. The next day, all the supermarkets were sold out of foil, and suddenly a flood of TV/radio taxes were being paid.

These probably rate as some of the best wide-scale practical jokes ever.

But with Easter Monday falling on April Fool’s Day this year, it got me thinking of an ever greater example of someone being outwitted.

Posted on March 25, 2024February 29, 2024 by Lori Cartmell

The Mystery of the Larch Tree

It’s easy to categorize trees, isn’t it?

Deciduous trees lose their leaves in the autumn. Coniferous trees bear cones and keep their needles throughout the year. It’s simple to tell them apart.

Case closed, right?

But what about the larch tree? It bears cones and has needles like a conifer, but the needles drop off each autumn like a deciduous tree.

So which is it, coniferous or deciduous?

The answer to this mystery is that it’s both at once. The larch tree is actually a “deciduous conifer.”

Larches fall into a special third category of tree. It’s a member of the pine family, and yet its wood is harder than pine wood; it’s more like the hardwood of deciduous trees. It has needles like a conifer, but they turn a golden yellow each autumn and drop off, like the leaves of a deciduous tree.

Larches are a rare combination of deciduous and coniferous, unique trees with characteristics of both.

You could say that larches are two things at the same time.

In the same way, you could say that Jesus was two things at once. Just as the larch is one tree with two natures, Jesus was one being with dual natures: both God and human.

Posted on January 8, 2024January 4, 2024 by Lori Cartmell

The Ultimate Makeover

We all love before-and-after transformations, don’t we?

The dramatic TV makeover that transforms a Plain Jane into a femme fatale.

Or the renovation that turns a dated, nondescript room into something fit for the pages of “House Beautiful” magazine.

But TV shows and magazines aren’t the only places to find dramatic makeovers.

There are astonishing before-and-after changes in the Bible, too.

One example of this is found in Peter, the brash, impulsive disciple of Jesus. A bit hot-headed, Peter was often afflicted by “foot-in-mouth” disease.

When we first meet Peter, he’s working as a fisherman. When Jesus provides the group with a miraculous catch of fish after they’d worked all night and caught nothing, Peter is scared. He says, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” ((Luke 5:1-10)

The demonstration of Jesus’ holiness and miracle-working power leaves Peter shaken.

Another snapshot of Peter is seen when he and the disciples are in a boat with Jesus. A storm whips up and they are afraid for their lives; Jesus, however, is asleep. Peter and the others wake Jesus up and say, “Don’t you care that we’re about to die?” (Matthew 8:23-27)

The prospect of imminent death rattles Peter.

Our last view of Peter occurs when Jesus has been arrested. Peter skulks around to see what will become of him while at the same time trying to disassociate himself from Jesus. When a of couple servant girls insist that he was definitely a friend of Jesus, Peter doesn’t have the courage to admit it. (Matthew 26:69-74)

The possibility of getting in trouble compels Peter to clam up about the truth.

But what a difference a day makes!

I’m referring, of course, to Resurrection day!

Posted on December 11, 2023November 14, 2023 by Lori Cartmell

Easter Eggs at Christmas

At Christmas, do your thoughts turn to Easter eggs?

Probably not, unless you’re an avid player of video games or a fan of certain movie franchises.

In the cinematic and computer worlds, an “Easter egg” is a secret message, image, or feature hidden in software, games, or films.

With video games, an Easter egg might be an unpublished feature or hidden property of the game that is normally hidden from the public eye. It can only be accessed by certain button combinations that are not common knowledge.

Easter eggs inserted by filmmakers in their works might involve a jokey detail or an obscure reference to a previous movie by the same auteur. Only the most alert audience members catch them.

For instance, famed film director Alfred Hitchcock had a penchant for appearing in cameo roles in his own movies. In 39 of the 52 films he directed, he left “Easter eggs” consisting of himself in blink-and-you-miss-it bit parts.

Are there any “Easter eggs” to be found hidden in the Christmas story in the Bible?

Actually, there are.

If you read the Scriptures closely, you’ll find that there are foreshadowings of Easter sprinkled throughout the accounts of Christ’s miraculous birth.

Posted on April 10, 2023February 20, 2023 by Lori Cartmell

The Missing Epitaph

What would you like written on your tombstone?

Maybe you’ve already given some thought as to what your epitaph should be. Perhaps you’d like a mention of your accomplishments or family ties.

You might even hope that something humorous be inscribed on your gravestone, as in the following examples:

“I told you I was sick.” (Written on the gravestone of William H. Hahn, Jr., of Princeton, New Jersey.)

“Here lies Lester Moore, Four slugs from a 44, No Les, No more.” (An actual epitaph in the Boothill Graveyard in Tombstone, Arizona.)

“There goes the neighborhood.” (Epitaph of self-deprecating comedian Rodney Dangerfield.)

“Here lies the body of Jonathan Blake. Stepped on the gas instead of the brake.” (On the tombstone of an accident victim in Unionville, Pennsylvania.)

“Here lies John Yeast. Pardon me for not rising.” (This cheeky epitaph is on a grave in Ruidoso, New Mexico.)

What was written on Christ’s tombstone? Any guesses?

Absolutely nothing.

Why?

Because He didn’t stay in the tomb for very long and isn’t there now.

Jesus was only a temporary resident in the dark chamber in which He lay.

Unlike John Yeast, Jesus did rise.

Posted on April 3, 2023February 20, 2023 by Lori Cartmell

New Life From Broken Eggs

There is often great beauty in simple things. Take the egg, for instance.

Even a plain white egg is pleasingly shaped, adorably sized, and a perfect blend of form and function.

Add some decoration, and you’ve got a small masterpiece.

Countries such as Ukraine have made an art out of decorating eggs as an Easter tradition.

Eggs “decorated” by God have a beauty all their own. There’s a charm to naturally speckled bird eggs that is irresistible.

You’d like to keep them intact forever, enjoying their freckled surface and gentle colours for as long as possible.

But if the eggs perpetually remained in the same state and were never broken open, you’d miss out on an even greater joy: you’d never get to see the chick emerge.

Sometimes you have to let go of something you love to receive an ever greater blessing.

This is something the disciples had to learn at the first Easter.

Posted on April 18, 2022March 26, 2022 by Lori Cartmell

Empty Rooms Tell A Story

Empty rooms can sometimes tell a pretty full story.

For instance, if you come downstairs into your empty kitchen and find chocolate sauce smeared over everything and a trail of chocolatey footprints leading into a closet, you can probably surmise what happened:

Your four-year-old went wild while you were busy upstairs and is now in hiding.

Or if you come home to an empty living room only to discover the sofa’s cushions have been chewed to bits and there is stuffing all over the place, the room itself tells you all you need to know: that your naughty dog shouldn’t be left alone so long.

Perhaps you arrive back from vacation and each empty room shows evidence of having been ransacked. A window was broken, drawers have been pulled open, and valuable items are missing. Police detectives find additional clues in the house that help them figure out the identity of the burglar.

Investigators (and parents) are masters at being able to figure out what story an empty room tells.

I wonder if we can use our detective skills to determine what the empty tomb of Jesus conveys?