Is it just me or do you feel like I do that our society is in chaos? Five minutes of the headlines in the news is enough of a sample to know that something is off right now. It seems like a spirit of darkness has invaded our culture, our government, our communities, and our […]
A Covenant of Love Read More »
There is a big difference between knowing about God and knowing God. We can spend a lot of time in Bible Study, in prayer, and in listening to preaching and teaching and learn all kinds of wonderful truths about God and yet not really know God personally. Knowing God personally involves reading God’s word, praying,
4 Steps to Intimacy with Jesus Read More »
Have you ever been distracted by the events of the day, worries of the future, or issues in the past to where you can’t really enjoy living in the moment? All the distractions of life can keep us from living and experiencing life as it can be in the Kingdom of God. It can be
Enjoying the Moment Read More »
When Jesus came to earth, he made the invisible realities of the kingdom of God fully visible. We acknowledge this in the Nicene Creed in this way: We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one
Making the Invisible, Visible! Read More »
When you think of the word holiness, what is the next word that comes to mind?…. For much of my life, when I heard the word holiness, I immediately thought of the word judgement. Other words that come to mind are scary, unattainable, unworthy, and unapproachable. But what if I suggested the word invitational? Would
An Invitation into Holiness Read More »
This Sunday, Christ followers all over the world will be celebrating Palm Sunday. It is one of the many great celebrations on the church calendar. It signifies a moment of transition where we move from a reflective state of lent to anticipating the events of Passion Week leading to the triumph of Jesus over sin
Observing Palm Sunday Read More »
This Wednesday is the day Christians around the world celebrate as Ash Wednesday. It is the beginning point of the season of Lent. But what exactly is Ash Wednesday? When I was growing up, our church didn’t do much with Ash Wednesday but I knew many of my Catholic friends did by the mark of
Observing Ash Wednesday Read More »
I am now beginning my third week long spiritual retreat with the Renovare Institute. One of the exercises we begin our retreat with is called “Laying on the Altar”. We pick some kind of object that represents how we have been experiencing God and we lay it on the altar. This time I picked a
Submitting to God’s Strainer Read More »
I grew up in Youngstown, Ohio and attended Mahoning United Methodist Church. My Mom and Dad sang in the choir, Mom assisted as church treasurer and Dad would lead various classes and assumed leadership roles. And much to my sister and my chagrin, we were usually one of the last ones to leave each Sunday!
Benedictions of Blessing; Doxologies of Praise Read More »
Are you self aware? Sometimes I am but I know at times I am not and I can definitely develop blind spots. Self-awareness is a popular concept in mental health. Dictionary.com defines self-awareness in this way: conscious knowledge of one’s own character, feelings, motives, and desires. In the previous post, we began to explore the Prayer of Examen and we stopped at Step 3 of the
A Spiritual Wellness Exam – Part 2 Read More »
If we want to maintain our health, it is important to include regular wellness examinations. These exams are more proactive in nature and a physician can help us make healthy choices as well as mitigate any risk factors. What about our spiritual health? Is there a wellness exam we can participate in where we are
A Spiritual Wellness Exam Read More »
Is it possible to be in two places at one time? At first glance, the answer to this question is a resounding NO! What are you talking about, you may ask? I can only be in one place at a time. But what if I suggested to you that it is possible to be in
Living a Simultaneous Life Read More »
When our kids were in school, half-way through the grading period they would come home with a “progress” report. I think those “progress” reports were a source of angst for many parents in the school district! If we didn’t take them too seriously and put undue pressure on performance, they were just a good tool
A Spiritual Progress Report Read More »
Its that time of year again. New Years Resolutions! Have you made any yet? Common resolutions that tend to come out this time of year are: to lose weight, exercise more, eat better, spend more time with family… That’s what is cool about starting a new year, its an opportunity to do a little inventory
Resolutions for the Soul Read More »
Many years ago I took a business trip to Bangkok, Thailand in December. Thailand is over 95% Buddhist, so I was shocked to find so many Christmas decorations around the city. There were even Christmas carols playing in the lobby of the hotel. It turns out the people enjoy the pageantry and shopping but do not celebrate
The Reason for the Season Read More »
I grew up attending Mahoning United Methodist church in Youngstown, Ohio. I have many memories of that church, especially during the Christmas season. One of the traditions that I really enjoyed was observing Advent and the lighting of the Advent candles, one for each of the four weeks preceding Christmas. As a candle was lit
The Discipline of Advent Read More »
Doesn’t the title of this post seem strange? Is it really necessary to categorize gratitude as a discipline? Shouldn’t gratitude be a natural, heartfelt response toward what we have been blessed with or experienced? In some respects, that is true. Webster defines gratitude as being in a “state of thanksgiving”. Often we are placed in
The Discipline of Gratitude Read More »
In the previous post, we talked about the Apostle Paul and his example of spiritual resilience. He encourages us to keep our minds and hearts continually on things above and not on earthly things. I would like to continue to expand on Paul’s example by sharing the stories of two other people who experienced freedom and
Developing Spiritual Resilience – Part 2 Read More »
When you think of the word resilience, what is the first thing that comes to mind? For me, the first thing that comes to mind is a little child. I always like to find an excuse to share a picture of my granddaughter, and in this picture you can see her example of resilience in
Developing Spiritual Resilience Read More »
Are we there yet? Have you ever been on a trip and heard that phrase uttered? Maybe you expressed it yourself! Or how about this one: “pull over or else”? Hypothetically, the driver of the car may hear this request from frustrated travel companions if they neglected rest stops for the pursuit of completing the
The Value of Rest Stops Read More »
This is the final installment of this series on Entering the Retreat House. So far we have described the various aspects of the Retreat House. We enter the house with our lives and our experiences. The house is built on a foundation of community. We are not alone, we enter in the community of the
Entering the Retreat House – Part 4 Read More »
Frozen pizza or fresh baked? Nothing wrong with a good frozen pizza especially as you walk through the grocery store late at night and you can have pizza in 30 minutes! But no matter how good a frozen pizza might be, there is nothing like a fresh pizza made from qualities ingredients made by expert
Entering the Retreat House – Part 3 Read More »
Do you like to receive a gift? I don’t know about you, but I can feel my pulse speed up a little when I see a box wrapped up with a bow on top with my name on it! Webster defines a gift as “something voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation”. A
Entering the Retreat House – Part 2 Read More »
In a previous post, we explored the discipline of retreat as an important way to learn to live like Jesus. If you are like me, you might be asking a question like: what do we do on a retreat? Even though retreat isn’t to be a heavily scheduled event, there is that part of me and maybe
Entering the Retreat House – Part 1 Read More »
Do you have a favorite place to “get away from it all”? A place where you can pull back from the busyness of life and “recharge your batteries”? If there is a mountain or a beach involved, that would be a favorite place for me. The only problem I have with getting away from it
The Discipline of Retreat Read More »
Did you ever own a WWJD bracelet? Or have something hanging on a wall with those letters? Those four letters have been incredibly popular to help remind ourselves What Would Jesus Do? Did you ever notice that it is not always easy to do what Jesus would or is it only me? Is it even
What Would Jesus Do? Read More »
Can you think of a time when you were impacted by the tone of someone’s voice? What was it about the tone that was communicated? I can remember a moment in High School when my trigonometry teacher stopped me in the hallway while I was on my way to another class. The first couple of
Recognizing God’s Voice Read More »
There is something distinctive about a person’s voice. There are just certain voices that when you hear them you immediately know who that person is. I am a big baseball fan and I can still remember those voices I listened to as a kid like Cleveland Indians broadcasters Bob Neal, Herb Score, and Joe Tait
The Power of a Voice Read More »
During this pandemic, we are all going through an experience that is impacting our lives to varying degrees. You may find yourself ranging from being ok to a sense of unease to fear or anger. Another thing to consider in the midst of this storm is identifying what you may have lost during this time
Hearing the Voice of God During a Loss Read More »
Recently there was a headline in the Daily Mail which stated: “Divorce rate spikes across China after ‘couples spend too much time together during coronavirus home quarantine’, officials claim”. Lawyers in the UK predict similar results, stating this can happen during prolonged time together as they have seen during long holidays. Is your spouse driving
Protecting Your Marriage During Coronavirus Read More »
