God, it takes courage to be the creatures
you made us to be.
Year after year we add to our experiences of the world,
pushing against our limits
to find out what will budge and what will not.
Brokenness, a Prayer for Lent
March 29, 2023 by Leave a Comment
Life on the Ark
February 28, 2023 by Leave a Comment
We can only imagine how messy and confusing the ark must have been. There were people there—Noah, his wife, his sons and their wives. There were animals there—two of every kind. And there was food there—every kind of food eaten in that day.
Invitations to Partake
November 16, 2022 by
Some 25 years ago I sat with a two-person video crew and a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship missionary on the dirt floor of a simple, one-room house in a small village in the mountains of Albania.
Strangers: A Meditation for Teachers
September 14, 2022 by
They walk, run, tumble, and drag into your room on the first day of school—complete strangers. At the beginning of the year they all seem to look alike.
Bells: A Meditation for Teachers
August 23, 2022 by
Telephone bells, doorbells, school bells, and fire alarms all alert us and prepare us to go into action. Our modern use of bells is totally different than one hundred years ago. Church bells rang the hour of the day and told of a death.
“My Soul Clings to the Dust”
August 2, 2022 by
Have you ever wondered what dust actually is? Magnify it 22 million times, and you’ll find a terrifying landscape: great ropes of hair, menacing dust mites, bits of dead insects, clothing fibers, pollen grains, and sloughed off skin cells.
All the Love We Can
July 26, 2022 by
As we near the end of July, some radio stations are getting their Christmas playlists ready to hit the airwaves. They seem to start playing these earlier every year.
Earthly Accomplishments
July 19, 2022 by
Chances are I have fewer years ahead of me than behind me. As I approach a significant birthday, I find myself reflecting on my life and asking myself whether or not I’ve lived it well.
Bittersweet: A Meditation for Teachers
May 3, 2022 by
There are weeks, even months, when we look forward to arriving at school each morning. We open our doors and relish the start of a new day of learning and laughter with our students.
“What Is It?”
October 13, 2021 by
When evening comes, and quails fly into the hunger-stricken Israelite camp, it must have been something like Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds”.
Meditations on Luke: The Last Laugh
August 18, 2021 by
The ministry of Jesus is such a ridiculous thing that it draws laughter. Everywhere he goes, he says and does things that are so out of step with what seems to be obvious reality that people think he is crazy. Imagine what the neighbors said when Jesus, somewhere around the age of thirty, walked away from his father’s vocation as a carpenter.
Souvenirs: A Meditation for Teachers
May 26, 2021 by
We collect souvenirs so that we will not forget special people and places. Sometimes the memories that return when we see or touch a momento are more wondrous and inspiring than the actual experience. Often our favorite souvenirs are the simplest ones: a Christmas tree ornament, a shell, or a postcard.
Satisfaction: A Meditation for Teachers
October 14, 2020 by
Concluding a school day is a lot like finishing a meal—you know immediately whether or not you feel satisfied. When the day is over and we close and lock our door, we know immediately whether we feel full or empty.
God’s Work in Darkness
April 14, 2020 by
In movies and media today, savvy viewers know to look for “Easter eggs.” Reminiscent of the egg hunts we experienced as children, movie directors and software creators offer these Easter eggs as inside jokes.
Meditations on Mark: The Soldiers’ Cynicism
April 8, 2020 by
One wonders what prompted the soldiers in this passage to act like they did. Why are they so mean and hateful towards Jesus? This is their first interaction with him.
Your Kingdom Come
December 11, 2019 by
Founder of the Advent Project, William H. Peterson, wrote, “While there is scant hope of changing the culture around us, the Church need not be a fellow traveler.
Praying Room
November 6, 2019 by
Excuse me. I am going to need some wiggle room, a place to twist and turn, space to squirm under the hands of life’s circumstances. It is a tight squeeze.
Pray Tell
May 14, 2019 by
American philosopher William James said of prayer, “Many reasons have been given why we should not pray, whilst others are given why we should. But in all this very little is said of the reason why we do pray.
Have a Little Talk with Jesus
January 16, 2019 by
Talking to God can seem like a daunting task. Our prayer list can become a mounting to-do list as we try to write down everything we need to say to God. It can become a shopping list as we look around for the right words to make this a good prayer meal.
Guilt: A Meditation for Teachers
January 9, 2019 by
One unfortunate thing we often learn as small children is how to fling guilt at other people. We find that guilt is a sticky substance that seems to attach better to some than to others.
Praying Across Enemy Lines
July 10, 2018 by
The times, they are divisive. It is hard to know where to stand as it seems that our society is on shifting sand. With politics finding its way into every corner of our lives and kicking up dust, it is time-consuming to keep the conversation clear, the issues distinct from the arguments for and against them.
Meditations on Luke: Maundy Thursday
March 29, 2018 by
These words, straight from Jesus’ lips, have a haunting tone. Jesus is fully aware of what is about to happen. Nothing about our Lord’s passion is an accident, a mistake, or a coincidence; it is all part of the Father’s plan, and Jesus knows it.
Meditations on Luke: A Judas Living Inside Each of Us
March 13, 2018 by
In his memoir Telling Secrets, writer and preacher Frederick Buechner tells about his childhood after his father committed suicide. In addition to the trauma of losing his dad was the grief of being forbidden to speak of what happened.
Meditations on Luke: “Do Not Be Afraid”
December 26, 2017 by
Over Christmas one of my daughters asked me a question. “Daddy, why is it that every time an angel shows up in the Bible, he always says, ‘Do not be afraid’?” I responded, “Well, what would you do if an angel suddenly appeared in your room one night?”
The Need to Be Grateful
November 22, 2017 by
Did you know that our brains have a negativity bias? According to recent neuroscience research, the human brain gathers strength around fearful, negative, or problematic situations. This tendency means that we must intentionally savor any loving, positive, or unproblematic event for at least 15 seconds to offset the negative.
Shaking Free from Indifference
November 14, 2017 by
Indifference is a tricky feeling. Sure, one can be indifferent about milk chocolate vs. dark chocolate (though clearly, dark chocolate is better). We can even be indifferent about slightly more important things like who to pick in a Yankees vs. Red Sox matchup (though clearly, the Yankees are preferable).
Arm-wrestling Prayer
July 13, 2016 by
After more than ten years in ordained ministry, I have found that we do more talking about prayer than actually talking to God. To be sure, we know that we should pray….
Keep in Touch
January 6, 2016 by
Though our primary means of communicating is in our hands, we don’t have time to talk right now. Sending a text message is complicated because it opens us up to a potentially ongoing conversation.