thoughts on life and faith
The week leading up to sermon delivery is a funny thing. Well, funny in hindsight, mostly painful as you live through it. Sometimes you have a series that is already mapped out and you can work within the fence of that safely. Many times these are grounded in a series from another church that went … Continue reading The Agony and Ecstasy of Sermon Prep
"Be yourself, everyone else is already taken." - Oscar Wilde When my son goes to sleep, I get a few moments where I take for myself. Many of these moments involve reruns of the Simpsons (living my best life!). There is a famous episode I have watched a dozen times - quoting and laughing every time - where … Continue reading Always Chasing Cool
The end of summer signifies the start of chaos for many. No matter how far removed we are from the school schedule, we still seem to work under its direction. The summer is for play. Autumn marks the end of all this and the return of business as usual. As the weather starts to change, … Continue reading The End of Summer / The Start of Self-Care
Many Sunday mornings greet me with an early morning travel show as I roll into church. I appreciate the way the show speaks of travel and in doing so, life. On a recent interview, a renowned troubadour was speaking about the difference between experiencing the culture you travel to and simply sight seeing. They lovingly … Continue reading Live as a Mindful Tourist
7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. 8 They Collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright. - Psalm 20:7-8 I have been staring at a blank page for close to an hour. My mind was greeted this morning by a … Continue reading What Do We Trust?
I am convinced that growing older means standing in line longer for things you neither want or are all that excited for. When you're young, you throw tantrums or patiently await something with youthful exuberance, but age slowly chisels much of the remaining excitement for whatever awaits the opposite end of the mass of people. … Continue reading Getting Older Means Waiting In Lines
How do you carry through life without being completely hopeless? It appears to be a deeply held human survival tactic to develop a hard enough shell not to be fully distraught - to the point you sit on your Cheeto covered couch binging reruns of Frasier (not that I have experience here). Even the softest of hearted … Continue reading Hope In A Hopeless Time
Yesterday I wrote on fear. It got me thinking about my own fears, both rational and irrational. As I look to share both the good and bad about my life and character, I thought it would be fun to share some of them in a short but soul bearing way. If anything, it is always … Continue reading Four Irreverent Fears of Mine
1 The Lord is my light and my salvation - so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble? - Psalms 27:1 There is plenty to be afraid of in this life. Bankruptcy, public speaking, job loss . . . spiders. All are unique circumstances … Continue reading Dark Corners and Spiders
20 Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm - Proverbs 13:20 On the 2nd and 4th Thursday of each month, I hang out with a ragtag group of twenty-somethings. As the facilitator, I hope that I am able to teach them something about life and grace, but the … Continue reading A Different Sunday Morning
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