It would be so easy to give up. To stop caring, to stop trying, to just throw in the towel and say, “I’m done.” To give in to who the culture wants you to be. To admit that you — or even humanity as a whole — has been defeated. To decide you’ll never be whole or healthy or victorious …
The Audacity of Hope
Back in October of last year I was invited to talk to the Puyallup chapter of Aglow International. I had recorded the whole thing on my little GoPro, but then it just kind of sat there. And sat there. Until now. This weaves together my story with Psalms 42-43 and some thoughts on hope. I call it “The Audacity of …
Treating Pain Like a Phoenix
Have you ever felt a pain which cut so deep that it was like a hot knife was sawing through your guts? When all you could do was curl up in a ball and cry out “Why, God?” When all of the reason in the world, all of the beauty, all of the certainties were shrouded behind a wall of …
Shadows and Stained Glass
For this holiday weekend I have something a little different for you. I hope you enjoy it, and that it sticks with you long after you’ve finished reading. May I present “Shadows and Stained Glass.” The moon wades into the restless ocean, Scattering captions of light across the cresting waves. Perhaps it tries to speak to him of brighter tomorrows, …
A Christmas Gift for You
Hello, my friend! Merry Christmas! It was about halfway through Christmas day that I realized just how grateful I was. Grateful that I could spend it with my daughters and my wife. Grateful that I’ve been given opportunities to help people, even in little ways. Grateful that, for the first time in three years, I was healthy for Christmas. Grateful …
Can We Savor the Bittersweet?
It might come as a shock to you to learn that my wife loves chocolate. However, as we’ve gotten older, she and I have developed much more of a taste for dark rather than milk chocolate. Dark chocolate is, of course, much more bitter, especially when you first start eating it. But the health advantages to dark over milk are …
Where is God When We Suffer?
I want to make a very special announcement to you today. If you ever follow my Facebook page, you probably know what I’m going to say. But otherwise, this could potentially come as a complete surprise because I have done a terrible job of getting the news out. Either way, here it is. =) Now. Drum roll please. Starting today …
We Are All Left Behind
I heard recently that the world is about to end. I bet you did, too. Our culture today is obsessed with the end of the world. Whether religious or secular, we know all about being Left Behind™ or being the last humans standing surrounded by The Walking Dead™. Many Christians chant, “Come, Lord Jesus!” And when they say this, what …
In the Stillness
“Then said Jesus unto them, ‘Be not afraid.’ “(1) . . . Tornadoes ravage everything they touch. They rip apart lives. They rip apart landscapes. They devastate civilization. In the part of the world I live in, tornadoes are relatively, blessedly rare. Thanks to our position amidst mountains, we are more sheltered from them than much of the United States. …
We Blaze Like Fireworks
The world around us seems so dark. Reason. Unreason. Right. Wrong. Up. Down. Does it even matter anymore? And what can we possibly do, in any case? How can we possibly make a difference? With so many voices making such a cacophony, our whisper is drowned in a sea of dissension. We feel fire burning in our chests. There are …