December is not generally the time of year to take a walk in a park. The wind is cold and seems to cut right through you. The frost covers the ground. You can see your breath even as you talk because the air is so crisp. Unless you layer up, a walk in the park…
I really like to garden. I plant flowers around my house and tons of plants in my garden. I water them and fertilize them. I even cut them back in the winter, at least the ones that are supposed to last year after year. But never in all my years have I ever had a…
Are you a dreamer? You know the kind of dream you see and experience when you’re deep in sleep. I can’t remember the last time I had a dream. As kids our dreams are active and filled with color and excitement. Sometimes those dreams turn dark and fill with scary images – we call those…
Noise is everywhere. This time of year seems to just amplify that reality. All you have to do is go to the mall and listen as the Christmas music that’s piped through the less than adequate sound system. Go to McDonald’s and hear the hustle and bustle of yelling children. Even in churches through the…
Advent is a season of waiting for God to show up. For those of us who are followers of Jesus, it’s a season of a month’s long anticipation. As children, the season of Advent was more about Santa and presents than Jesus and angels. But as we grew up that anticipation became something deeper. We…
If you look really closely, you’ll see thousands of scars all over. Some are nearly microscopic, while others are much larger. Each one of these scars tells a story. None of them are life threatening by themselves. But when you put them all together, their impact adds up significantly. There’s a method of torture called…
I almost dropped everything. There are two kinds of people in the world. There are the ones who carry two bags of groceries in from the car, and then there’s me. I tend to load up the arms and carry as much in as I possibly can. Less trips and all. Plus it’s kind of…
I lost three of my grandparents in about a year and a half. That narrow window of time for a loss is a lot to handle. And if you’ve lost anyone special to you, no matter if it’s three people nearly all at once or something significantly different, it kind of makes you wonder. Where…
In a culture that is bent on getting ahead and being the best and coming out on top, this is not a very popular idea. But if you hang with me for a bit hopefully you’ll come around and see things a little differently. Success is defined as the accomplishment of an aim or purpose….
Have you ever wondered what was on your pastor’s heart? Like what got him excited in the morning? What keeps him up at night? What breaks his heart or brings a smile to his face? There are three short verses in a small letter in the Bible that really drive at what’s on a pastor’s…
