A note about one of my illustrations: I was heavily influenced by Rob Bell’s book, Velvet Elvis and drew heavily upon his chapter on the dust of the Rabbi as one of my illustrations. I will italicize that section. Many of you now that I recently returned from a two-week vacation and I want to tell… Continue reading the dusty road…
Tag: delight
the grace of giving
In May of 2000, I lost someone very dear to me… my stepfather, Daddy Bill. He died about three weeks before we returned from Italy. Daddy Bill was in a very real sense my father… he provided security, stability and love for me as a teenager desperately needing a father. One thing I loved about… Continue reading the grace of giving
Sabbath and Gratitude
As I reflect on what it means to cultivate gratitude and a generous heart as a spiritual practice, I am reminded of the importance of keeping the Sabbath. I found this blog I wrote a few years back that really captures my thoughts about this integral connection. It was a good reminder and I wanted to share it… Continue reading Sabbath and Gratitude
Beautiful things…
Recently a high school student in our congregation introduced me to a new song, “Beautiful Things” to use in one of our worship services. Ever since I heard the song, I have continued to sing and repeat a line of the song over and over to myself… “You make beautiful things out of the dust…” Yes, it… Continue reading Beautiful things…
For all my pastor friends and colleagues out there…
God… what makes people like ourselves follow this strange sensation we describe as “call” how is it these resilient seeds find a way to sprout even in the most hostile environment? we marvel as we watch others like ourselves plunge into the deep waters… of church and ministry with eyes wide open and sometimes not… Continue reading For all my pastor friends and colleagues out there…
worshiping a God who engages all of our senses…
As I read in Exodus this morning, I was struck with the details that God gave Moses on Mount Sinai for constructing the Tent of Meeting. He included a variety of woods, jewels, gold, purple yarns and colored fabrics … worship was to be a sensory feast. There were to be spices and oils to engage… Continue reading worshiping a God who engages all of our senses…
more thoughts on the gift of time
One of the reasons I feel we misunderstand and misuse our time is because we do not view it as a gift. We generally move from day to day with the assumption that there will be another. The consequences? We move from activity to activity, meeting to meeting, shopping spree to movie night, barely able… Continue reading more thoughts on the gift of time
Some thoughts on the gift of time
It is always intriguing to me when the various streams from which I am reading all come together in one congruent message. For the past several weeks, I have been reading about the gift of time… each new day… how we receive it… how we perceive it. It began as I was reading Eat, Pray and Love… the author reminisces about… Continue reading Some thoughts on the gift of time
Practicing the Sabbath… yielding for God’s provision
Practicing the Sabbath continues to be a life-giving practice for Harry and I. Admittedly, we have had to make some adjustments along the way. For several weeks now, we needed to change the day of the week due to previously scheduled events on Saturdays. So, we decided to make our Sabbath during this time from… Continue reading Practicing the Sabbath… yielding for God’s provision
What does it mean to be playful?
As I continue my practice of prayer, Jesus continues to invite me to play. Recently as I prayed through Psalm 23, I noticed that in my time of centering prayer, Jesus was with me in the green grass by the still waters. It was a beautiful place. Instantly I saw that we were moving around… Continue reading What does it mean to be playful?