Steal My Show
Good morning... "No matter who we are and no matter what we do, we all got our own show, we got our own life," explains TobyMac from the stage at the end of his live concert. "We can either take that life and we can make it ours or we can give it to God and ask Him to do something much greater with it than we could ever do on our own. [...]
Invisible Expectations
Good morning... This morning as I spend quality time with God in the little chapel of my soul, I think about the invisible expectations filling each room we enter, especially during the holiday season. The mysterious matrix we quietly step into is made up of unmet wants (our own and others), subtle and not-so-subtle demands, and deeper aching needs often left unnamed. Adding an image to illuminate God's insight, the Spirit sparks in [...]
One Tiny Prayer
Dear LORD... Hold us. Love us. Guide us. You who keeps no record of wrongs, Your voice is always gentle and always kind. We each have a tiny chapel in our hearts where we can meet intimately with You. Anytime. Anywhere. As we move into this season of great joy and expectation, we also may happen upon moments of stress, strife, and sadness. Hold open the door to our tiny sanctuary. Whenever chaos [...]
What I’ve Not Got
Good morning... I love to browse, to meander, to lose track of time lingering. When I have opportune moments to whimsically waste, I like to stroll the aisles of a Goodwill store. There is no telling what second-hand treasures I might happen upon. What fine find caught my attention last week? A crazily covered canvas hosting these black words painted in a child's handwriting: "What I want is what I've not got, and what [...]
Savor Sabbath: Be Constantly Connected
Good morning... As I look back on our week of learning, this bonding wisdom draws me like a magnet. "God is always saying to us, 'If you give Me everything, I will give you everything," says my vibrant 93-year-old friend Betty Skinner. "It is a constant coming, a constant offering, a constant struggle to let go in order to move to a deeper communion with God." (Crenshaw and Snapp's The Hidden Life Awakened, [...]
If I Had One Superpower
Good morning... If I had one superpower I think I might choose the ability to control time. Wouldn't it be cool to turn back time, returning to a day we would love to last forever? Wouldn't it awesome to speed up time, fast-forwarding through a dark, hard season to get to our bright future? Wouldn't it be empowering to make things happen right now, getting our way, forcing all of our dreams to [...]
Four Peaceful Words
Good morning... The person with the most nicknames in our family is our youngest son, Jeremiah. Jay. Jerry. Jay-bird. J.J. Jubes. Jerold. Jay-bar-tinkle (not sure where that one came from). Jesus himself had lots of nicknames. Lord. Christ. Master. Son of God. Son of man. The Word made flesh. The list goes on and on, but currently my favorite nickname for Jesus is Immanuel, which means "God is with us." These four simple words offer the [...]
Learn To Uplift
Good morning... Very graciously she said to me, "I don't want to open your blog and hear about negative stuff happening in your community. Cancer. Suicide. Tragedy after tragedy. I have enough hurting people struggling around me. I don't need your painful experiences piling on mine, dragging me down. I read your morning messages hoping to be inspired, to be lifted up, to be given strength for the hard things I am facing." [...]
What Am I Supposed To Say?
Good morning... Do you get nervous when you wake up on the morning you are scheduled to be the speaker? I do. I really do. I really do, and here is why. I do not know what I am supposed to say. I do not know what others need to hear. I do not know what joys and sorrows will fill our gathered hearts. I do not know. I am not designed to know. [...]
We Don’t Understand
Good morning... "I don't understand anxiety and depression," she said after returning home from a funeral. Our daughter's 22-year-old brain was trying to process why her good friend's mother would take her own life. We both agreed. Because it is not happening to us, it is impossible for any of us to comprehend the swirling storm of anxiety and depression raging inside another person. Feeling drawn to put some meat on the bones [...]
I Ruined Two Cars
Good morning... In my dream I had gotten a brand new car, and the next morning I woke thrilled to spin away on my spiffy fresh wheels. Pushing the automatic opener attached to my pristine sun visor, I opened the garage door to make my car's maiden voyage. Fiddling with the new feel, I put the car in reverse and stepped on the gas pedal. THUD. HALT. OH NO. A loud, horrible sound [...]
Savor Sabbath: Be Joyfully Bonded
Good morning... Praying aloud in front of a crowd, Jesus said to our Father: "Now I'm returning to you. I'm saying these things in the world's hearing so my people can experience my joy completed in them" (John 17:13, MSG). It is an incredible thing to think the joy we experience in our everyday lives is actually the "joy of Jesus" being completed in us. Earlier John records similar words. Jesus says, "I [...]