I recently re-read a post here from three years ago. It is titled Fragile. I recommend revisiting it, if you have the time today. Good thoughts on how we can all make this a better world simply through an awareness of the condition of others (even if we can’t see their condition with our eyes)….
I have been reminded of and pondering the fruit of the spirit again recently. The Fruits of the Spirit are an easy Sunday School object lesson. We are all familiar with, and most of us love to eat, fruit. Fruit is colorful, comes in various interesting shapes, and is delicious; and also provides sustenance. Who…
If you think about it, we’re all quite fragile. Some of us mask the fragility with bravado. We even put on a brave face for ourselves, attempting to convince not only the world but our own hearts that we are strong, capable, able, and unafraid. But the truth is that pseudo-confidence could be shattered by…
Marriage is hard. If you’re soon to be wed and you hear those words, you eschew them as the trite acrimony of bitter people. That will never be true for us, you say to yourself, sure of the truth of your conviction. Without fail, you discover that the union of two lives into one is…
Righteous indignation on each side; blustery public diatribes backed by legal or biblical authority; verbal wars among foes and friends and family which take no idealogical prisoners—this seems to be the state of current events. But this tiny spider doesn’t seem to know, or care. She’s not angry, or justified, or changing the color of…
This is the week for remembering, it would seem. Just days ago I marked the eleventh year since the start of this blog, and today, August 29th, we passed another special day in our family’s history. In the year 2002, our music had become the primary focus of our days and weeks, and even years….
Strength. Power. Might. Words that have impact, weight, gravitas. Vivid pictures of great force and ability prominently display on the screen of our minds. Big, overwhelming, unstoppable, unbreakable. Powerful. We love strength. We need it. The events of our lives remind us so often that we lack control, ability… power and strength. And so we…
If you’ve spent any time around Jesus, you’ve probably noticed that he sees things backwards; upside-down. His vision of how the world operates is counter-intuitive, counter-culture, and counter- most all of our own natural bents. Jesus took his backward thinking all the way to his own, un-protested execution. He was silent before his accusers.1 Jesus…
I am not very comfortable in “Christian” settings. For a long time now, I’ve said that I “don’t like Christians”, but that’s meant to be at least somewhat tongue-in-cheek. I know that Jesus is life, that there is no life outside of him; and for me, everything I do, and see, and experience runs through…
A good friend of ours read a book a while ago and thought that I might enjoy it, too. She was right. What I most enjoyed about this book was it’s emphatic emphasis (is that a thing?) on the singular fullness of Jesus. (Which, I’m sure you already gleaned from the title.) The concept is,…