May I See Your I.D. Please?
See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. …
‘Abba, get me a bagel” and similar prayers that work
Like the discipline of doing nothing, the discipline of praying simply requires a great deal of faith. It is difficult to pray simple words, phrases, or nothing at all and believe that our Father is intimately attuned to our needs, …
Read more‘Abba, get me a bagel” and similar prayers that work
How Cornbread May Be the Bread of Life in Your Neighborhood
Neighboring is a lost art, but people have not lost a heart for it. Not by a long shot. That was the case for Lance and Sherri Ford. They wanted to reach out to their neighbors, and not just once …
Read moreHow Cornbread May Be the Bread of Life in Your Neighborhood
Presence Requires Absence
To be able to be present with people in this chaotic world you need to embrace times of absence. We need to put away our phones, put away our to-do lists and deadlines. We must be intentional about being still …
Prayer: From Duty to Delight
The school bus pulls heavily away from our house, and I turn from the door. Through the house I go, switching off lights and turning down the radio that plays constantly to the menagerie in my son’s room. Then I pull …
Salvation is Someone
How many times have you heard someone say, “I want to be close to God,” or “I feel far from Jesus?” For many of us, we have been led to believe that our relationship with Jesus is based on proximity–a …
Do you Know Your Neighbors Name?
There was a time when neighbors knew each other’s names, when small children and the old and infirm alike had more than their families looking out for them. There was a time when our neighborhoods were our closest communities. No …
Pray . . . Without Stopping!?!?
Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 esv I am hoping that this doesn’t become an infomercial for a forthcoming book, but …
Overcoming Debate with True Conversation
Does it seem as though civil discourse is on the endangered species list? When discussion is reduced to talking heads yelling at one another on cable news channels, posting inflammatory commentary on Facebook, or calling each other snarky names on Twitter, where …
Spiritual Moms Needed!
“The pastor of our Next Gen ministry is giving the message today,” my oldest son said enthusiastically last Sunday morning. I was in the Boston area at my son and daughter-in-law’s vibrant and multi-campus fellowship – one church in four …