SECOND-HAND JESUS
THREE LITTLE GIRLS Three little girls ages seven, eight and nine trekked together for over a mile through the city streets of the north-side of Chicago. In one hand they clutched a quarter for the offering plate, and in the other a dime for the candy store. They ventured weekly to Saint Bartholomew’s Church in … Read more
STEP RIGHT UP!
Step right up! Get your ticket to the ride that will give you loads of resilience, perseverance, trust, faith and incredible intimacy with God! Can you hear that carnival voice? It’s beckoning you to queue up for an experience that will make your relationships stronger, your spiritual eyes wiser, and your heart open to whatever … Read more
COURAGE
It was supposed to be a compliment, but I couldn’t disguise my furrowed brow. “You’re like interstitial fluid,” the conference attendee said. Can you see my confusion? He went on to explain the medical definition, and then summed it up with, “You hold everything together.” HOLDING THINGS TOGETHER He exaggerated of course, as I was … Read more
SMALL PURPOSES
What happens to your purpose when you don’t have the space to live it out? What happens when you’re considered a non-essential part of the world’s infrastructure? It’s no secret that most of us derive our identity from what we do, so during these times, when we may be unable to “do”, how and where … Read more
SADNESS
Ripped and torn and scattered and broken; that is the landscape in the aftermath of the deadly tornado that left a swath of destruction from Nashville to Cookeville, TN. As if it decided to take a drive down Interstate 40, it is marked as a black horizontal dash on the map. That dash reflects so … Read more
Thank You Jesus. Amen.
A backdrop of pale blue cinder block walls was where the genesis of my intentional prayer life began. In a dank basement of a church, circled up with a dozen other people going through a book that encouraged prayer partners, a sudden yearning for more overcame me. One voice stood out over the few weeks … Read more
FOLLOW
I had always pictured following Jesus as literally being behind Him; wanting to grab the tassel of His robe, and grateful for the dust that His sandals kicked up in my face. Sometimes I’d picture us walking side-by-side as He’d guide me. Proximity was everything, but, never, ever, ever, did I imagine I could follow face-to-face in the same way as a dance! That type of closeness was an affection I had never imagined.
IN REVIEW
In the spirit of review I have combed through all my blog posts and categorized some of them so that you can focus on a particular virtue or spiritual attribute to enhance in 2020.
CHANGE – (Part Three)
REMAIN He’s older and getting frightfully older by the minute. Have you ever looked at someone and could see them aging right before your eyes? Hear the new crackle in their voice? Catch a verbal flub or memory lapse? Watch clear eyes turn watery? It’s an unsettling feeling to watch the tail-end of time transpire … Read more