Tuesday, December 11, 2018
Nothing good happens when we forget our stories, our deepest self-knowledge, our understanding of who we are and are called to be. When we forget why we say the words, how the stories have changed us, we lose the substance of ourselves—our muchness, as author Lewis...
Monday, December 10, 2018
I worry that I give God bitter grapes when all God has given me ought to make me sweet. And sometimes, I won’t allow people to just be sweet to me—I struggle not to assume some kind of intent to gain leverage, or buy time, or pacify. Isaiah breaks my heart. He calls...
Saturday, December 8, 2018
Approaching a campsite at dusk after a long hike in, seeing familiar faces or holy trees, sacred springs or a flock of wild turkeys, feels more like coming home than walking into my house. Songs shared around a campfire between friends, whether singing like angels or...
Thursday, December 6, 2018
Let me be honest with you. The best thing—the bedrock of all the good things that there may be about me—isn’t about me. It is Jesus’ love for me—lived and died and resurrected and coming back. That is the best thing about me. This is the best thing about you too....
Wednesday, December 5, 2018
I have found myself clinging to these words tighter and tighter in the last few years. I hold dear to my heart the hope that there will be a time of right judgment and a righteous judge coming to make things right. I dream about the day when we will live out of each...
Tuesday, December 4, 2018
We don’t like having our dirty soul-laundry aired out. Usually, we set fire to the pile and walk right out of the house as we scream at the one who has laid bare our hidden sin. We punish prophets for exposing the reality of our own personal and corporate sins, and we...
Saturday, December 1, 2018
There was a day last summer that was one of my best days ever. I stood on the uneven floor of my wonky little kitchen in our funny old farmhouse and made fresh salsa out of vegetables from our own backyard. We ate that salsa on eggs from our very own hens. That...
Friday, November 30, 2018
Today the church remembers Saint Andrew, often referred to as “the first called.” This alludes both to Andrew’s quick response in following Jesus and how he brought his brother Simon Peter to meet the Lord. I serve a church dedicated to Saint Andrew. We are a friendly...
Thursday, November 29, 2018
Throughout this month, we’ve talked a lot about the lives of the saints. With All Saints’ Day, the commemoration of All Souls, and Veterans’ Day, it’s easy to see why November is often referred to as the month of Holy Souls. This month is not meant for lament or...
Wednesday, November 28, 2018
Zacchaeus cares about one thing and one thing only: Seeing a glimpse of Jesus. He doesn’t care what others think as he scrambles up the tree. He doesn’t listen to their rebukes about being a traitor and collaborator with Rome. He has to see Jesus. Zacchaeus knows...
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
The tall peaks and deep valleys of Appalachia dominated my early life. Their beauty has never left me, even as I moved away from the mountains as an adult. Psalm 121 always draws me back to those early years, to God’s presence on the mountaintop, and in the...
