Learning
Growth
Unity
What We Wish We Knew About Foster and/or Adopted Kids
I believe it’s important that we who are on the fringes of adoption and foster care have a better grasp of the journey—we, the family, friends, and church members. And so, I interviewed several foster/adoptive moms, and this is the collective message I heard:
No Map, Just Compass
One reason I enjoy reading the Bible lies in its honesty. People are described as they lived, warts and all. Wander into most any church and the sermons you hear can too often sound triumphalistic, simplistic or just a glazed-donut version of life, but the pages of scripture are filled with real people facing real problems and looking to God for a way through them all.
What’s a Micro-adventure?
Dan and I recently stumbled into an unplanned micro-adventure (a micro-adventure defined as short, cheap, local, and low-tech). We zipped up armored jackets, strapped on helmets, and rode Dan’s motorcycle into the mountains on a blue-sky autumn day.
Wait For It
The women at Camp Morrow scurried towards the Chapel building at 8:45 a.m. It was a crisp and clear morning, 23 degrees. Acorns, pine needles, and dry leaves littered the ground. The oak and maple trees were nearly bare. We had been summoned by the camp bell all weekend for meals and Chapel time. The large room bowed in a curtsy to invite us in for the final session of the ladies’ retreat.
Just Another Cow Flop Tuesday
So there I sat, head in hands. I'd blown it again. It seems like just when I make progress in my faith walk I stumble back into old patterns and foolish attempts at making my own way. How could Jesus want me on his team? When will I get it together? Why does it seem when I have a whole pasture to enjoy, I find the one cow flop to step in?
Battle of the Cs
William D. Hoard is a guy most have never heard of. Even if you are a die-hard Packer fan, he is probably unknown to you. William, born in 1836, was a civil war veteran from Wisconsin and later an energetic advocate for the dairy industry in his state. He was elected Wisconsin governor and carried the legacy of the "Father of Wisconsin Dairy Farms." A true cheese head.
What If We Risked Delight?
My heart is saddened by recent world events. And not just bombs and killing and war, but also ongoing poverty and deep hunger, injustices, the selling of humans into slavery, and homelessness right in our backyard.
Beauty In Chaos
For the last several weeks, BibleProject has been exploring the concept of chaos in the Bible. Chaos, also known as disorder, confusion and unpredictability, is represented in Scripture by several things, like the ocean, the wilderness, wild animals, and even dragons! Meditating on chaos, my imagination goes wild.
Who’s Your Shepherd
One of the most recognized and recited passages of the Bible is Psalm 23. Most can quote its opening by heart and easily lean into David’s cadence and imagery. Today, let’s take another stroll through its verses, this time in the New Living Translation.
Autumn Leaves
It is Autumn here in Central Oregon. The ornamental trees around our house are in varying shades of pale green, yellow, and orange. In the next several weeks their colors will intensify. Some leaves will drop, some will be tugged away by the wind and rain, but most of them will stay until they are in their full color.
I’ll Pray for You
So many times when someone crosses my path, either in person or mentally, I sense a nudge to pray for them. A natural response to a need says, “I’ll pray for you.” But what do I say to God? What words? What requests? What tone of voice?
What’s the Big Deal About Our Words?
On a recent 7,800-mile road trip to Alaska that involved a horde of driving hours, Dan and I engaged in several conversations.
We discussed specific chapters of a book I was reading at the time.
Saying Goodbye
A good woman recently died. I met Martha in church when we moved to Bend in 1987. I saw her as an older woman then, even though she hadn’t yet seen 60. (How foolish young eyes can be...)
Apollos: Mighty in the Scriptures
One of my favorite New Testament characters is the itinerant preacher Apollos. He bursts on the scene in Acts 18:24-28 and is mentioned again in I Corinthians and Titus 3. I like his combination of biblical knowledge and passionate delivery that God uses to change the lives of his hearers. Apollos is a role model for me.
Room 728
Following our bike ride along the Great Allegheny Passage from Pittsburgh to Cumberland, MD, Claudia and I said goodbye to our riding partners and drove a rental car down to see some of her family in the Shenandoah valley outside of Roanoke, VA. Visiting her siblings and their families wraps us up in a warm hug of love (along with plates-full of great southern comfort food).
Expectations
In some circles it is said, “Expectations are pre-resentments.” I expect you to behave in a particular manner and when you do not conform to my expectation, I resent it. It is all within my own control–planning the outcome for something over which I have no control. This is a game I cannot win most times. I try to be careful not to play it, but sometimes I slip.
Five Objects of Wonder, Part 3
All things are meant to reveal God’s glory, as it says in Romans 11:36:
For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever. Amen.
Friends
I’m writing this at 37,000’ on my way to Pittsburgh with Claudia and a couple of dear friends, Dan and Marlys. We are off on a five day biking adventure on the Great Allegheny Passage. Dan and Marlys are easy to travel with and we count them as true friends.
Can There Be Too Much of a Good Thing?
In our travels through the Great North, we noticed trees with multiple burls. A burl is a large, rounded swelling, and the experts’ best explanation is that they may develop because of insects, bacteria, or freeze damage.
Is Christianity Impossible?
I came across a new book this week that I’ll order in due time. It’s by Kevin DeYoung and the title is worth the price of admission. Impossible Christianity: Why following Jesus does not mean you have to change the world, be an expert in everything, accept spiritual failure, and feel miserable pretty much all the time. That’s a mouthful and quite a promise.