Every now and then as a pastor I get an opportunity to scan the faces of my church family in worship. I know many of them well as they struggle through life.  And then there are many I don’t know or only know vaguely.  Many that I know are amazingly rising up to worship despite […]

(The Last One Works Every Time!) Growth is easy when you’re 8-years-old. It gets harder at 30 or 40 or 50. However, it’s easy to stop growing. Your growth as an adult demands intention. Stop growing? Easy as pie! But just in case you run out of ideas, here are a few ways: 1. Hold on to things Whether […]

Perhaps the most repeated quote of the past few years, made famous through the excellent writings of Brene’ Brown is Teddy Roosevelt‘s anthem to those who dare to be in the arena: It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of […]

  Our society emerged as an over-diagnosed culture over the past ten years. We seem to have a name just about every disease, dysfunction and disorder. I don’t know why but I guess it’s a good thing to be able to understand ourselves or at least have an excuse for the crazy things we do! […]

Then Job spoke again: “My complaint today is still a bitter one, and I try hard not to groan aloud. If only I knew where to find God, I would go to His throne and talk with Him there. I would lay out my case and present my arguments. Then I would listen to His […]

Recently I created a Facebook post on a page I manage using the voice of an unbeliever and her internal thoughts: I have good days, but some days it all seems grey, lifeless… I feel invisible and unwanted. I wonder if this is all there is to life. I have friends that are Christians, true […]

I’ve been looking over your files and I think I’ve narrowed down the diagnosis for your condition. You are uniquely you and that’s why you’ve been acting the way you have. I don’t think this condition will change. You’ll probably be you the rest of your life. You’ll continue struggling with this condition. Some days […]

I love this phrase. It is a three word equalizer. Whisper it when you become scattered and life is chaotic. Perhaps it was all that fiery fundamentalist preaching I heard growing up or maybe because I had coaches that only spoke in loud, louder, and ear-ringing, facemask-grabbing vibrato. But I imagined God’s voice as a […]

I recently ran into someone I knew in college at the mall in my home town. He was THE DUDE on campus. He married the campus beauty and received an assistantship at a prestigious law school in the northeast which allowed him to return home and begin a successful law office. Amazingly, he remembered me. […]