A rural pastor was out visiting his peeps. In the course of chatting with a local farmer, he asked him, “If you had two cows, would you give one of them to the Lord?” “Why, of course, Pastor! Absolutely. Wouldn’t even think twice about it,” responded the farmer. The pastor asked another question. “If you […]
I’m taking for granted, in this audience, we all want to spend time with Jesus. We all know we “should.” But more than that, we truly desire that intimacy, that quiet time, with him. But what do you do when it doesn’t work? What do you do when your “quiet times” fail? Because, try as […]
In our society, we wear busyness like a badge of honor. How many conversations go like this: “How are you doing?” “Oh, I’m so busy!” “I know, right? Me too!” Ever have conversations where you try to out-busy the other person? Where whoever is the most busy wins? Somehow, I think we’re missing something here. […]
Thriving. Not just surviving. Is that even possible? Believe it or not, yes, it is possible. And it’s actually not that hard, which is really counter-intuitive when you’re just trying to keep your head above water in survival mode. But you can’t get there by trying harder, which, although counter-intuitive, is really good news. Thriving […]
Sleep is a spiritual practice. Honoring the sleep your body needs is a spiritual non-negotiable. It’s stewarding the temple of your body well. But honoring your season of life is also a non-negotiable. And in some seasons of life, like parenting small children, sleep seems like a luxury. These non-negotiables can be at odds with […]
Having doubts doesn’t mean you don’t have faith, in the same way that having fear doesn’t mean you aren’t courageous. What?!? You can’t be courageous and fearful at the same time, can you? Yes, absolutely you can. Having courage doesn’t mean you’re not afraid. In fact, the brave person and the coward both feel the […]
It’s fascinating to me that our New Year here in Western culture occurs in the dead of Winter. I know other cultures’ New Year occurs at different times of the year, and that’s great. I’m sure God is speaking to all cultures with the timing of their New Year celebration, but I’m only qualified to […]
When I was a kid, Christmas couldn’t come fast enough. I loved the big family gatherings, seeing my cousins, all the great food (especially my mom’s fudge), decorating the tree, and of course all the presents. I loved it all. And my birthday is in December. It was the best month of the year. Now, […]
So many people live in a scarcity mindset. This causes jealousy and self-destructive behavior in relationships. These people intrinsically believe there’s only a limited amount and I might not have enough. For example, when bosses sabotage their up-and-coming star employees, they’re afraid and threatened by another’s success because of a scarcity mindset. “If you succeed, […]
Although there are principles and guidelines clearly spelled out in the Bible, God is intentionally anti-formula. In fact, he goes out of his way to avoid patterns that we could turn into a formula. Because he values something so much more. Partnership with us. Old Testament: Every Battle is Different In the Old Testament, there […]