To begin 2016, I was compelled by the Holy Spirit to read several books about inner disciplines. One of the books I had recently purchased pertained to this. Soul Keeping by John Ortberg, Senior Pastor of Menlo Park Presbyterian in CA. In a couple of chapters Ortberg addresses the tension that sin creates for the [...]
And he said to him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and [...]
Murphy's Law! An idea that speaks to the human condition. If you think your life is supposed to be challenge free, easy, and predictable...Ha! Wake up! Your dream is over, right? Murphy is laughing. See if you can identify: [checklist] A day without a crisis is a day that is a total loss. Inside every [...]
I think most of one's personality is formed in childhood from parents, siblings and playmates. I've heard parents say, “I don't compliment my child much because I don't want them to get the big head”. Children somehow get good personality traits by copying the good traits of their parents, or avoiding their bad traits. Proverbs [...]
As I stand rolling Christmas cookies in powdered sugar, I lift my eyes and catch a glimpse of my digital picture frame on the far wall. A picture of my children appears on the screen… and then another. I watch the scenes change as my hands mindlessly pick up another cookie, roll it in sugar [...]
My heart. My passion. Let me see.... Family? Of course. Hungry kids? Yes! Most definitely. Oh. And fishing. Now you’re talking. I am passionate about fishing. Not the kind of fishing around here in Middle Tennessee, where you pick up a cup of night crawlers from WalMart, drop a line in the pond and hope [...]
I am thinking, as I write this, of the various approaches to prayer. Some use prayer as a means of “preaching” or expressing an opinion on a matter. Others tend to be extremely formal in their approach to our Father. Some rely on prayers learned over the years. In certain situations, I use prayers written [...]