I am thankful For what I don’t know For knowing that I don’t know For the knowledge that my ideas of your love, your beauty, your goodness, your thoughts are insufficient My ideas may, by your grace, be true, but they are fractional truths There is more unseen than seen More unimagined than imagined I have found your intentions to be very different from the intentions I ascribed to you only a short few years ago I have found your…
I have read the words of Hebrews 12:1-2 many, many times: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, [2] fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right…
It was bound to happen. After last night’s lengthy dinner discussion with a friend regarding the benefits (and moral challenges) of experimenting with Artificial intelligence(AI) tools for recent design and composition projects, I awakened in the middle of the night from a nightmare of epic proportions. In my dream, I was hard at work with AI prompts that would provide for my team a more streamlined workflow when I fell into a slumber. As I began to doze, I prompted…
What is our response when we are overwhelmed by life and our circumstances? Fight or flight? Face the moment or hide? Mitigate risk or “meet them in battle nonetheless”*? There are certainly moments (or seasons) when we have no “reasonable” hope for a good outcome, but God teaches us to expect his help – even in the face of overwhelming odds. In the 11th century B.C., the nation of Israel was facing antihalation from the surrounding people in Canaan, primarily…
What is your first thought when the storm approaches? How many have you lived through? Do you wholeheartedly pursue adventure? People die every day as a result of “adventure”. Does that keep you locked in at home – staying safe? “God created us for risk and adventure. Consider the challenges of marriage, parenting, running a race, dreaming and pursuing big dreams. All of these are fraught with hard work and gut wrenching risks. In his recent book, Play the Man,…
This morning, I awoke from the unsettling depths of another dream of being caught in an inescapable quagmire of life’s circumstances. It was, without a doubt, inspired by last night’s viewing of the 2002 version of Charles Dicken’s Nicholas Nickerby. It is inevitable that my wife and I will be drawn by a irresistible force (like the pull of gravity) to immerse ourselves in these types of dramas that torture and entertain us. These are Dickensian lessons where (almost without…
How we lack imagination….. faith is required to imagine what is wonderful beyond our sensory grasp. Our self-focus, encouraged by our pain, keeps us inside of our little dwelling. Stepping outside of ourselves is a gift – from God himself. Outside are the limitless vistas that expand our humanness and give us eternal hope. These are the places we rarely go – since we fear being overwhelmed and losing control. Pray to be overwhelmed! Pray to understand that you…
At Morning and at evening it shines just as bright It changes the room where it scatters its light When troubles unkind make the day longer still And the heart is unswept of its worries and cares It appears unannounced with its soft Summer warmth And commands into bloom what is lovely and fair There are gifts that are given each day of the year Many given for need, many given for love But the gift that I cherish every…
Have you ever wiped away someone’s tears? Have you? You don’t wipe away the tears of someone you don’t care for – very deeply. Thinking back to my childhood, if my tears were ever wiped away, it would have been by my tender-hearted mother. It wasn’t many years before growing up (or embarrassment) moved me away from desiring such comforts. Tears are messengers of our brokenness and pain. Tears are the physical expression of the emotional distress that lives below…
Yesterday I stood at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean during a stormy sunrise. The beach on the Outer Banks of North Carolina stretched out of sight in both directions. The deep blue clouds, lighted from above were a thing of rare beauty. The strong, gusty winds pushed me around like one of the few brave seagulls. But what overwhelmed me most was the inescapable salty aroma that heralded the transition from continent to ocean, the edge of two…