Progress To A Transformed Christian Life
Despite my shortness and my whiteness, my sport growing up was basketball. I loved the action meshed with specific skills meshed with constant competition. I was good enough to play on varsity at a large high school and then to play at a small non-scholarship college. One of the reasons I progressed as a player... Continue Reading →
I have seen some incredulous reactions over the last week regarding Charlottesville, Virginia. People are shocked at the fact that 50 years since the civil rights movement there are still white supremacists and Nazis. This doesn't surprise me at all. You see, 50 years ago there was legislated and structural racism. There were laws in... Continue Reading →
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when... Continue Reading →
In the last post, I discussed a few items that have helped me as I work through my grief in the loss of my father. Today, I mention three more that have been instrumental in restoring some sense of balance and stability in a challenging time. Fasting - Scot McKnight, in his excellent book on... Continue Reading →
In the weeks since my dad's death, I have tried to do a spiritual check in on myself and recognized that I am struggling. I am out of balance. I am stretched thin and lack a lot of stamina when it comes to spiritual things. I am barely able to provide emotional awareness to my... Continue Reading →
How do you write when you would rather just sleep? How do you write when everyday you feel like you have just been run over by a bus? How do you write when you have been drained of every ounce of profundity or insight? How do you write when just getting up in the morning... Continue Reading →
During the final months of my dad's life, I learned that God takes care of you even when you think he isn't taking care of you. There were many prayers for my dad, and myself, that went unanswered. Prayers for his healing, prayers for his ease of mind, prayers for an easier situation for my... Continue Reading →
My dad passed away on July 8. I tried to honor him at the memorial service by offering some remembrances. Here is a condensed version of those remarks. My dad was a simple man. I say that in the best possible way. He knew the power of a handshake and taught me such power. Just... Continue Reading →
No one chooses to face the depths of their ruined heart. Because we never seek this out, sometimes God has to force us to come to grips with our true bankruptcy of spirit. This usually occurs through some kind of tragedy or crisis or wilderness time. These are times when we come face to face... Continue Reading →
This was originally posted in April.
In Wichita, James Bryan Smith talked about reality. He said that reality is “what you can count on.” He also referenced Dallas Willard’s definition of reality as “what you find out when you find out that you are wrong.”
Are there things that we can count on that are constantly hiding behind our wrong assumptions? I think there are.
In this life, I can count on getting angry. I can count on desiring something that I don’t have. I can count on being disappointed with another person. I can count on making mistakes. I can count on feeling helpless at times. I can count on not having all the answers. I can count on needing help from another person.
photo by: Ricardo Romano
I don’t think anyone can dispute that this is reality for every person who walks the face of the earth. We are limited, frail, and needy people…
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