Chris, one of my friends, was in a seminary class when someone raised his hand and asked the professor: What is your best advice on how to be a good pastor?”
“Empathy,” the professor replied. “Have empathy.”
Then Chris raised his hand. “How do you get empathy?
With a trace of sad knowing in his eyes, Read more…
Have you ever felt that your love for Jesus has just grown cold? Maybe you feel that way right now. If so, keep reading…
Most of us come to Christ with a certain “inloveness”—a stirring of emotion mixed with an inexplicable knowing that we’ve discovered our reason for being. But some years into our spiritual journey, the wonder that swelled during the early years ebbs into routine religion laced with busyness. Read more…
There it was.
Carved in wood.
The evidence could not be denied.
My niece, Anna, dropped her kids off at school and then went home to clean up a bit. She removed a hairbrush, school papers, and yesterday’s jewelry from her dresser. And there it was. She couldn’t believe her eyes.
A nail. Read more…
What do you do when heartbreak slams into joy? When your soul cracks open and there just aren’t enough tears? When hurt steals your hope and you want to give up on life? When deep soul lesions make a mockery of your faith? I’ve been there. I wonder if you have too.
I remember the day when my son, Read more…
I watched the news and mourned the hatred of mankind. I read the paper and questioned the senseless headlines. I listened to the radio and cried about the wildfires out west. Silently I prayed, God, why is the world so messed up? And then the Holy Spirit reminded me of where broken began.
When God fashioned, fitted, and filled the earth, Read more…
Grief is a funny thing. I can’t think of many who haven’t experienced grief in some form or another. So let’s talk about it today.
Grief is a natural response to a loss. It could be the loss of a loved one, the loss of a relationship, or the loss of a dream. Grief is a complex weaving of emotions that accompany the loss of what was or sometimes the emptiness of what wasn’t. Read more…
2020 and beyond has been filled with the question “why”? So let’s go there today. I’m sharing over a Proverbs 31 Ministries today and I thought this might encourage you today too.
Many years ago, my son, Steven, and I sat on the floor in his room playing a card game. This summer was proving to be the best ever. Read more…
We hear the term, forgive and forget, but how can we forget? Don’t you wish there was a delete button for our brains?
There was a world of hurt in my family growing up. When I became a Christian, there was a world of forgiveness that needed to take place. It took me some time, but I eventually forgave my dad for all the things he did. Read more…
I like instant. I like brewed coffee in a minute or less. I like microwaved leftovers in 45 seconds or less. I like instant text, instant online shopping, and instant movies at the click of a button. But sometimes healing takes time.
I’m not a fan of process, but would rather have immediate results. One of my favorite words in the New Testament is “immediately.”
Have you ever wished you could tear certain chapters out of your story? Or that you could erase the painful pages? If so, this post is for you. I’m writing over at Proverbs 31 Ministries today and wanted to share this with you too. Let’ me start with a game my son and I played when he was a little boy… Read more…
