Mountains & Mustard Seeds

21/08/2023

Hello new friends! It’s been a minute since I’ve introduced myself here; I am Erica the originator of Mountains and Mustard Seeds. (and this is our new puppy Brie, who tells me when 5 o’clock hits each day 🤣)

My background is in Chemical Engineering but I have spent the last decade in full-time vocational ministry (both church and college work). Last year I received my Masters in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. I much prefer in-person conversations, usually with a cup of coffee or over a meal 💛

I would love to hear more about you! Please comment below with a little about yourself and fun question to engage with others.

21/04/2023

In our literary study of Ruth 1:15-22, Erica discusses chiasm. It’s a powerful literary device that helps to emphasize the core idea in Biblical literature. These slides are a helpful visual aid for the podcast, which is available now! Click the link in bio to listen.

20/01/2023

Tomorrow launches two out of three podcasts in a mini Bible study. My hope is to use this format for larger portions of scripture, so John 9:1-7 is a teaser of what is to come!
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Would love to hear any feedback or questions you have.

02/12/2022

One of the things I love about this time of year is the expectant joy of Christmas. And yet with all of the preparations, parties, and gifts I often lose sight of Jesus: God with us. For those who ascribe to the Christian faith, we know that Christ’s birth is the reason we celebrate, but what does this mean for us in a modern context? Anticipating the birth of Christ seems ironic or irrelevant, considering it happened over 2000 years ago in a wildly different time and place. So what exactly are we anticipating?

I suggest that by practicing this joyful expectancy of Jesus’ birth (advent), we begin to notice the ways God is with us here and now. Jesus’ birth inaugurated a new era for God’s people, a new reality which we can live into continually. What if we lived each day with a joyful expectancy for God to reveal Godself to us in tangible, relatable ways? I think this is the epitome of the Christian life and yet it is all-too-often lost on most of us.

Starting tomorrow, I will be posting a weekly guided lectio divina for advent. I’ve taken my own spin on it, but think it still reflects the practice so many have become familiar with in their traditions. Please join me this Christmas season as we reflect on the arrival of Jesus, the Anointed One, God-with-us, and consider how the Incarnate God radically changes our lives here and now.

13/09/2022

New look, new direction and new content coming SOON. Stay tuned for more details in the following weeks.

04/11/2020

“The imprecatory psalms are distinguished by language that invokes divine judgment upon the psalmist’s enemy or the enemy of God.”[1] They functioned as raw lament prayers to God for retribution upon their enemies, petitioning for His divine intervention. Within the liturgical context of ancient Israel, they would have been sung communally as an “articulation of the desire for the annihilation of evil forces against God’s people.” [ 550 more words ]

https://mountainsandmustardseeds.wordpress.com/2020/11/04/imprecatory-psalms-for-a-modern-believer/

YHWH can handle our unbridled emotions and respond to pain or evil in our world with a power and a Holiness that we do not possess. In that sense, the modern Christian should be relieved to discove…

03/04/2020

What about you? Are you seen as someone who has been with Jesus?

30/03/2020

Ready now for your ears 🤗 and last episode in the Defining the Terms series

30/03/2020

We are back! I apologize for my hiatus and am excited to be back in a rhythm despite what quarantine has to say 🤣

01/03/2020

24/02/2020

Episode 7 is hot and ready! 🤣 check it out on Google Play, Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

24/02/2020

Available later this afternoon! Here is a sneak peek 👀

19/02/2020

Episode 6 is available today! Check it out on your favorite podcast app 🎧 🔊

18/02/2020

Calling is one of those tricky topics that I think we usually just over complicate in our human-ness. Here is a sneak-peak if the next episode in the Defining the Terms series.

17/02/2020

Reminding this of myself like it’s my job. How about you?

10/02/2020

Now available for your Monday lunch break! Check it out on Spotify, Apple podcasts or Google Play.

10/02/2020

Thanks for bearing with me in the delay of this episode. Between getting sick and deciding to scrap the entirety of my previous recording, I chose to push it back to today.
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Just like everything in our faith, learning and understanding and growing is a process. Experiencing true freedom in Christ is no different.
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Episode 5 will be available by your lunch break today on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts!

27/01/2020

Ha! It’s true and I apologize to anyone who tried listening to the podcast today and heard last week’s instead. That’s what I get for working before coffee 🤦🏽‍♀️😩🙄
For real this time, episode 4 is available now! ☕️ not included 😉

27/01/2020

Episode 4 is now available!
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I have loved digging into these Christian phrases and understanding where they originated in scripture. This one is half informational, half anecdotal. Sometimes the most practical steps we can take are to share our stories and talk about where we are in our spiritual journeys. I’m excited to hear from you as we learn and grow and process together!

26/01/2020

“Walk with God”, our next episode in Defining the Terms will be available tomorrow. I share a little more about my own journey and what’s it looked like in my life to “walk with God”.

20/01/2020

The next episode is available today and I am pumped for this one! I love learning more about the Holy Spirit and so this episode was particularly fun to prepare and record.
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I think the Holy Spirit either gets too much flack these days or is never talked about and I would love to course-correct for all of us. As the primary agent of God’s presence in our lives today, it is imperative that we learn how to walk in step with and be filled continually with the Holy Spirit.
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If you are a believer, please seriously take the challenges in this episode to heart. We will never truly see revival in our world until we see it first in our own hearts and lives.

17/01/2020

Bringing the heat this next episode! Here is a sneak peak 👀🔥