I entered the back of the auditorium. The band played a familiar song, but the vastness of God's grace, captured within the lyrics, gripped my heart in a brand new way. It's there on the wedding day There in the weeping by the grave site There in the very breath we breathe Your great ...
A Surrendered Hideout
Trees have offered boundless hiding spots and shelter since the beginning of time. They have served as a fortress to playful children, lovers, and convicts alike. Jesus addresses the misuse of their timber in Matthew 7 when He asks us, " Why do you see the splinter that is in your brother’s or ...
When God Carves a Pathway
Psalm 77:19 ~ Your road led through the sea, your pathway through the mighty waters—a pathway no one knew was there! According to the prophet Isaiah, God taps the desert sand of our soul and streams spring forth (Isaiah 35:6). He carves roadways of escape into the oceans of impossibility that ...
Riding Tandem – Part 3 of “The Pursuit of a Fruitful Life”
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5 NLT Once. Only once! In my early twenties. I experienced the adventure of riding, what the famous 1892 song coined, "A Bicycle Built for Two". Riding on ...
Training for the Long Haul – Part 2 of “The Pursuit of A Fruitful Life”
(If you missed Part 1 – “Where’s the Fruit”, it can be found on my April 5th blog post) 8 “Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come. 10 This is why we work so hard and continue to struggle, for our hope is in ...
Where’s the Fruit? – Part 1
This blog is Part 1 of a 3 part series on the Pursuit of a Fruitful Life My home is an excellent barometer of my soul: I can generally judge the health of my life-pace by the condition of my house. A quick tour through my home this past week offered a shocking collection of misplaced items: ...
When a Light Shines Into Our Darkness
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned. Isaiah 9:2 (NIV) Do certain dates mark a time in which God shined a bright light into your deep darkness? Today is such a day for me. It's this day, 28 years ago (January 7, ...
Giving the Greatest Gift
I have a new friend. A friendship that emerged from the furnace of adversity, crafted on a shared pathway through the valley of death. Almost 30 years ago, I fumbled my way through that awful, inky-black valley after the tragic death of our 7 month old daughter. My new friend has been groping for ...
Never Beyond Repair
I spent a couple of hours recently in the office of an orthopedic surgeon with a hamstring injury that had developed into a chronic inhibitor of fun. One of the first questions the doctor asked me was, "When did this injury occur?" After recounting the original sports injury in 2004, the doctor ...
Curing a Self-Centered Soul
I hate to admit it, but selfishness seems to be an effortless rut in the road of my life. It requires no strain for me to think far too often of myself, to grip too tightly to my time, my resources, and my life. Maybe that's why the impromptu visit with my friend impacted me so deeply. She called, ...