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 …
Your Best Life is Striving
I recently saw a post from a dear friend who said that it was impossible for us to live our best lives now, and that we wouldn’t receive the fullness of God’s blessing until we got to Heaven. Now, I understand what she was saying. I recognize that she is probably not Joel Osteen’s biggest fan. I also know that …
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 …
The Boundless Mercy of God
Pope Francis once said that, “God forgives not with a decree but with a caress. … Jesus too goes beyond the law and forgives by caressing the wounds of our sins.”(1) That creates quite an image, doesn’t it? The perfect, holy God of the universe, creator of galaxies and gluons, sees the wounds you have inflicted on yourself, the pain …
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 …
Judge Not Yourself
This week I’ve been pretty hard on me. Can you relate? As an introvert, it is possible that I spend more time inside my own head than some people. And that’s okay. I like it there. I have it decorated just the way I want it. It has my favorite Cthulhu throw rug. A strange ooze drips periodically from the …
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 …
The Storyteller
Why is it that suffering brings us together? When we meet someone for the first time and they say, “I’ve got cancer,” there’s an instant bond that forms. Especially if you’ve had cancer, too, or some other major health problem. But, even if you haven’t, there’s still that connection there. Why? It’s not just commonality, though that is definitely a …
Awash in the River
Does the greatest impact from the story of Adam and Eve come from that it happened, or that it does happen? Is it just a story, or is it our story? Not in some esoteric, genes-and-blood-and-destiny sense, but in the dense, concrete truth that we have all violated our world, our fellow men and women, and the very God to …