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, ...
Your Life… Sharing the Sweet Gift
I'm not certain how it happened, but I am alert that a change is taking place in me. Following the good news that the fast-growing mass in my body was nothing more than a benign nuisance, I was certain I'd live with renewed speed toward the swift accomplishment of my goals and dreams. Instead, the ...
A Great Day to Plunge Deep
It's a new song. A brand new arrangement. A choir of distinctive birds. Every morning they gather, offering the soundtrack to the quiet sanctuary of my backyard. But today I'm restless. Distracted. All around me, I witnessed dozens of struggling plants. Heads drooped, leaves withered. I wasn't ...
Always Good
Covering her left eye, she ran into the house, her long braids whipping hard across her back. Hunting for her mom, she cried out, "Mom, I've got something stuck in my eye.” It appeared to be a small white fleck, stuck firmly to the outer corner of her eye. This stubborn irritant wouldn't ...
Don’t Wanna Get My Hopes Up
How many times have we heard those words…or thought them... or whispered them to ourselves, or casually admitted them to a friend, as if it’s noble or even God-honoring to keep one’s hope suppressed and one's expectations low? My life has been in, what I would call, a holding pattern for ...
the answer to all our fears
Four days ago I received a call from my doctor regarding the hard marble-like bump that had appeared suddenly in my pelvic region. The ultra-sound results motivated the doctor to schedule a biopsy this week to determine the nature of the mass. I must admit, it takes no effort for my mind to run ...