This is an excerpt from the introduction of Stretched: A Study for Lent and the Entire Christian Life by Christopher Richmann (1517 Publishing, 2026).
We can bring our troubles, griefs, sorrows, and sins to Jesus, who meets us smack dab in the middle of our messy mob.
Confession isn’t a detour in the liturgy. It’s the doorway.

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I am not one of those people who can put together a jigsaw puzzle without using the picture on the box.
Jesus takes that burden away in the “I forgive you and them” and gives us His “light” burden.
There is no pain like the pain of being mistreated by those who, above all others, you expect to love you unconditionally.
A crisis of faith always occurs when we begin to believe that God has betrayed us.
Have you ever played hide and seek with a 2-year-old? News flash: They’re terrible at it.
I have my list. It may seem strange to you, but, when I think about my own death, I often think in terms of positive failures.
Stephen Fry, the English actor, author and game show host once disparaged the “grammar Nazis” who felt it necessary to enforce all the rules of language but who had forgotten, or just didn’t care, about the joy of language.
Either one of those verses alone is scary; but both of them together are terrifying!
I'm in the middle of a series on Paul's letter to the Ephesians.
You cannot fudge Glory in this life. You get there only on the Better Day that is coming and not one day before.
You are free to love your children without any expectations because you have been loved immeasurably.
“We humans are an evil, untrustworthy bunch.” I said to a friend recently, by way of explanation/cold comfort, after he had been cut to the core by fellow Christians who were uncomfortable with his vulnerability.