Every day, I am reminded… 1. Dismissing is easier than listening. 2. Judging is easier than seeking to understand. 3. Concluding is easier than patiently remaining open. 4. Stereotyping is easier than seeing. 5. Profiling is easier than curiously engaging. 6. Other...
Too few people ever truly fall in love, which makes me sad. I think it could be because they are forever looking for the perfect partner who will finally rescue them and make them happy. They don't realize that no one can "make you" happy. A person can wait their...
It is mysterious, but somehow, when everything else is stripped away, we find ourselves sitting [at Christ's table] in the abundance that remains. We encounter sustenance for the journey, companions for the road ahead, and the body and blood of Christ, which invites...
Lord, thou knowest better than myself that I am growing older and will soon be old. Keep me from becoming too talkative, and especially from the unfortunate habit of thinking that I must say something on every subject and at every opportunity. Release me from the idea...
Sometimes when we are disappointed in our church and its leadership, it’s because we are expecting our church to make us happy…expecting what it’s not designed to give. Becoming happy in life is a personal project that can’t be outsourced to others, even one’s...
Whether or not the call includes an outward journey, it always requires an inward one. We need to be delivered from all that binds and keeps the real self from breaking into music and becoming joy to the world. from Cry Pain, Cry Hope
When we see others as the enemy, we risk becoming what we hate. When we oppress others, we end up oppressing ourselves. All of our humanity is dependent upon recognizing the humanity in others.
Transformation isn't sweet and bright. It's a dark and murky, painful pushing. An unraveling of the untruths you've carried in your body. A practice in facing your own created demons. A complete uprooting before becoming. from Edge of Wonder
This life, therefore, is not righteousness but growth in righteousness: not health, but healing; not being, but becoming; not rest, but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it. The process is not yet finished, but it is continuing. This...
God puts us in churches so that we will learn to love others; so that our rough edges will be worn off. When you feel like fleeing to another or different church, know you are moving close to spiritual growth. One purpose of church is to place us in covenant...