Perhaps the hardest part of any project is the halfway point. When a new ministry is started there’s a lot of enthusiasm. People are attracted by the “new project smell.” There’s the excitement, the novelty, the belief that this is going to break new ground. Then you get to the halfway point. The novelty has … Continue reading Advancing the Kingdom by being faithful in the mundane
I have friends who are Marines. None that I know of are currently active. Once, I made the mistake of referring to one of them as a “former” Marine and was quickly corrected. “There are no former Marines,” she said, “only active and retired ones.” When God reiterated the promise of His abiding presence to … Continue reading Breaking Down to Build Back Up
They say the two best days of a boat owner's life are the day he gets the boat and the day he gets rid of it. Don’t believe me? Ask Noah. Building that huge boat was no small undertaking. Dealing with the contractors had to be stressful enough! Then there was maintenance of the boat … Continue reading God always remembers
For several years I had the privilege of serving in a faith-based addiction recovery program. We helped people not by getting them to exchange their addiction for our program, but by introducing them to Christ and helping them to build a relationship with Him. For many, having any kind of meaningful relationship was a new … Continue reading No VIP Access
We all have elements in our lives that, for us, make life work. Let’s call them “molecules of control.” The elements that make up those molecules might be friends, family, work, hobbies; it’s different for everyone yet the same too because, like I said, our molecules of control are what we use to make life … Continue reading Splitting atoms when our problems aren’t even vinegar on baking soda.
I know this sounds petty, but the Bible says “In [everything] give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18), so I want to publicly thank God for helping us with our yard sale today. We held the yard sale today because we are moving soon, and … Continue reading I just want to thank God for helping us with our yard sale.
Samson lived during a time in Israel’s history known as “the judges.” Judges in Israel were not like the court room judges of today. They were defenders of Israel against its enemies. In Samson’s day that enemy was a people known as the Philistines, and Samson made a point of being a thorn in the … Continue reading A Bad Example of God’s Grace
Sometimes you just don’t know what to pray. You’re too confused about the situation to know what ask for; you’re too in the dark to understand the details; or every time you start to pray the thoughts bring up so much pain it’s just too hard to find the words. Likewise the Spirit helps us … Continue reading When the words just won’t come
I remember reading or hearing somewhere that if a person is in an urgent situation where they have to evacuate quickly and they have time to rescue one thing (other than loved ones), they typically go for the thing they value most. I remember seeing this played out once. Jane and I were enjoying a … Continue reading Moving on means leaving some things behind.
It’s easy to trust the Lord in the good times. It’s hard in the bad times. It’s worse (almost impossible) when the bad times are your own making. I mean it’s one thing when someone else shoots you in the foot, but when you do it yourself? Right now, I feel like I should be … Continue reading This one’s a little all over the map.
Grace in Waves 