This is not the blog I wanted to write. I was halfway finished with an entry about God being present in the details of life, scripture supporting that and how our souls thrive on very particular details. I had already titled it Real Life which was the name of a newspaper column I used to… Continue reading Eight Years
On my daily walk I either go to the woods or I walk in my neighborhood. Darkness, how much time I have and the weather usually helps make the choice for me. Lately, I've been walking mostly in the neighborhood. If I'm walking in the right place at the right time, I see a ritual… Continue reading Heart Habits
My truth telling friend and sometimes blog editor said, "You've become obsessed with light." He was referring to my rather newly found fascination with sunrises and sunsets. He's right, although I would substitute the word stunned for obsessed. He assured me he was using obsessed in a good way. What I've become is awake, awed and… Continue reading Stunned and Astonished
Early in my ministry I had books of canned sermon illustrations. You could look up any topic and find a story, joke or charming anecdote. For example, JOY: Jesus and Moses were playing golf.... Thank God I rid myself of all those books. They were terrible. Thank God I learned real life was richer, fuller,… Continue reading joy.
It is a spiritual practice. I check in with myself every day to see how I'm feeling. When I journal every morning, after I review the day that has just passed, I jot down what I know about the current day. Then, I write down what I'm feeling. It is almost always a "mixed grill"… Continue reading Peaceful Butterflies
Last week I lost a friend, someone exactly my age, to pancreatic cancer. As I prepared to preach at his funeral I learned he had a tattoo on his back with Proverbs 27:17 etched there. My friend, in the last five years of his life, competed in 4 full Iron Man triathlons where you swim… Continue reading As Iron Sharpens Iron
Every Christmas, I remember the Christmas when I was six. I've written about it, preached about it and told the story over and over to whoever would listen. The season is enhanced by the re-telling of our stories. That year, for the Christmas Eve midnight live nativity, my mom was Mary and my dad was… Continue reading Wonder/Incarnation
