Learning
Growth
Unity
Twelve-Step Recovery and Jesus
They meet in Room W21 upstairs and in Fellowship Hall. They met before COVID, during COVID and they are still meeting. Some come on Tuesday, some on Thursday. Some are recovering alcoholics and some are still trying to deal with the everlasting effects of alcoholism in their lives. This is recovery in action.
The Bottom Line
Like a monster, money creeps its way under our pillows when we are young and soon tries to smother us, never letting us breathe until we die. It’s a false god, an idol by nature, demanding our worship and nothing less.
Loss? Or Exchange?
Maybe because I notice some physical decline that I think of the losses of life, but this is really true in each phase of our lives. Loss is part of a world not yet redeemed as it will be. People can get trapped focused on the loss and not see what stands ready to fill the void and be exchanged for what came before. Look ahead. Jesus is not finished with you regardless of your hurt and loss and disappointments.
Do You Have 3:00AM Friends?
Friends of ours own a historic cabin on the Metolius River in Camp Sherman. Last summer, we helped them with an outdoor covered porch project and an indoor rod-and-curtain-hanging endeavor. (And when I say we helped, I mean mostly it was Dan while I cheered him on.)
Sin
This morning we heard a good, no, great message by Jason. His message left people squirming in their seats - as it should have. He talked about sin.
But what is sin?
Memories of Dad
The other morning, I woke early and got out of bed. In reality, Dorene kicked me out of bed for making too much noise. I removed myself to the recliner and being the week before Father’s Day, I began to reflect on memories of my dad.
Looking Back
My friend Bob Schuur once told me a quaint, but poignant Pennsylvania Dutch saying: "Too soon old; too late wise." What the expression says to me is that I wish I had learned earlier the lessons I now know and done the things I no longer can do.
Go Make Stuff – The World Needs Makers
It was Nanea Hoffman who said:
“Go make stuff today. Make coffee. Make a ruckus. Make a difference. Make a memory. Make time for someone or something you love. The world needs makers.”
The Mixes and the Zapotecos
In 1981 we were working in Oaxaca, Mexico with Gospel Recordings. Our job involved interacting with the tribal groups of Mexico, of which about 120 lived in the state of Oaxaca. We lived in the small village of Mitla, nestled up against the mountains at the end of the paved highway.
Pretending
This past week Claudia and I drove down to the Sacramento area for my nephew's daughter's high school graduation. We had a great time with family and lived through yet another grad ceremony, this one held in the King's basketball arena with a class of over 640 from Franklin High. Wednesday, on the drive down, we passed some of the time listening to a few Tim Keller talks from his podcast.
Can We Edit Our Stories?
About a month before I met Dan, I came across a quote from Susan Statham:
“Your life is a story. Write well. Edit often.”
It caused me to wonder how the editing process works.
One at a Time, Please!
Sometimes I love social media. I can watch a great baseball highlight seconds after it happens. I can watch baby pandas do somersaults. I can read or listen to profound messages from leaders I admire. I can be made aware of exigent news, such as the recent elementary school shooting, within minutes of the event. But that last example was a reminder to me how social media can be a real problem.
Desert Meet-Ups
The older we get the more we experience (and witness in others) days that are just flat hard. Reversals come at us in various forms from disease and death, disappointments and betrayals, dreams lost and finances upended. Life can feel like a stretch of arid wilderness where little grows on its own. Even when we strive to do our best and be our best selves trouble too often seems to show up.
Show, Don’t Tell
Show, don’t tell. This advice is great to follow if you want to engage a reader into the emotion and actions of a character rather than bore them to tears with a toast dry point-by-point narrative of how the character feels. Put the reader right in the story.
Urgent! Spiritual Friends Needed
We desperately need more spiritual friendships in the body of Christ. I consider them the glue that holds a community of believers together when times get tough.
After With, What?
At the Habitat ReStore, I work the floor. The role is part concierge ("Let me know if I can help you"), part Sherpa ("I'll load out that giant armoire and meet you at the roll-up door"), part friendly grandpa ("It's Lucky Hand Monday! Guess which hand has the fruit snack?") and part free listener ("Sure, I'd love to hear your story"). Awhile back, a regular customer, a guy I know from the store but not outside of it, and who is a Jesus-follower, came into the store followed by a dark cloud.
“I Want to Hold Your Hand”
I was recently thrust back into this piece of nostalgia by the death of my best friend’s wife. As I reminisced about our past, this song came to mind. It took me back to an old relationship.
A Tattoo on My Soul
One sentence. If you blink or let your mind wander like I did some years ago when I skimmed past it, you might miss it. After all, it’s only one sentence—one sentence in one paragraph in one section of one chapter of one book.
With
The other day while Claudia was out and I was reading/napping in my chair, the doorbell rang. Our little Annie-dog goes nutso whenever someone comes to the door, so between getting coherent and corralling the mutt, it took a bit to get up to see who was there.
Taking the Long Way Around
This past weekend, I strapped on a helmet and—putting my life in Dan’s hands—hopped on the back of his motorcycle.
He didn’t share his flight plan, but I knew our destination: a tiny country store east of town. So why was he heading in the wrong direction?