Could it be that love is the purpose, meaning, mission, and objective for us all? Not just any love, for as Henri Nouwen writes, “The hard truth is that all people love poorly. We need to forgive and be forgiven every day, every hour increasingly. That is the great work of love among the fellowship …
Oh, Be-Have
The movie character Austin Powers immortalized these words in such a way I can’t help but smile every time I imagine his face and tone as he says, “Oh, Behave”. Yet, as I read Matthew 7:12 another illustration came to mind. The Message translation for this verse is “Here’s a simple guide for behavior: ask …
Good. Enough.
I’ve struggled with the concept of “good enough”. Am I okay with having a good enough marriage, a good enough job, a good enough life? Or is the idea, as Christ offers us, to have life, and to have it in abundance? Perhaps it’s both…for anything and everything that is good comes from God. He …
Holy Playfulness
Rest in the love of God. His beauty and His blessings abound. Unfazed by rumor and gossip, and relaxed even among enemies, my Spirit remains firm and my heart full because of the generous love of God. Trusting in Him more and more, life expands. Learning to enjoy Him and living fully with Him, beauty …
Vision Quest
Solomon prayed to God for wisdom to rule God’s “glorious” people when he became King after his father’s passing. This is striking to me not because he asks for wisdom but rather, I admire the way he sees people. How often might we find people irritating, a bother perhaps, untrustworthy, and maybe even burdensome? Do …
Swim Life
Water is beautiful, but it can also be dangerous. For those who don’t know how to swim, falling in over their head is literally life threatening. Whatever beauty that body of water once held for that person is now replaced with complete dread. However, just by learning to swim, this beautiful and once dangerous entity …
Dancing
As the days drew closer to my first half Iron Man, my mind began to make a shift. For nearly a year, I had been in preparation and training. Though I thought I was in decent shape, I soon realized my body, now close to 50 years old, wasn’t taking too kindly to the longer …
All Is Not Lost
No one likes to stumble - and to err is human. No one is perfect. As such, as we go out into the world, we needn’t be too surprised about getting angry, frustrated, irritated & annoyed with all that seems crazy in the world and in our lives. Our heart’s desire and ache for things …
Light It Up
I enjoy a good rockumentary - those back stories behind some of the greatest musicians and bands. I recently saw one about Santana where he said he felt there are really only two kinds of people in life - “those who choose to be the artist, or the con artist”. The artist seeks to create …
While We Can
Making the most of what God gives us isn’t always easy. The temptations to hoard His gifts, misplace our devotion towards the gifts over Him, or even disregard the gifts seem to always linger close by. However, in Ecclesiastes 5 we receive some powerful advice - “whoever loves money is never satisfied with money…and hoarding …