Focus Forward

You won’t find God stuck in the past. You’ll notice His handiwork and recognize His workings. But He’s not stuck back there. His name is not I Was. His name is I Am. If we obsess over what God did last, we might just miss what He wants to do next. God’s at work right here, right […]

Practicing Celebration

“Joy is the serious business of Heaven.” -C.S. Lewis Celebration matters to God. We’re called to practice celebration because of the many things it will do within our hearts. Richard Foster says that “celebration is central to all spiritual practices.” If you find yourself struggling with envy, bitterness, disappointment or grumpiness – ask yourself: are you […]

Ecuador

Extreme poverty is about trying to survive one day at a time. Those living in this kind of poverty live on about a $1 a day. Poverty is hunger, inadequate shelter, lack of clean water, poor or no education, no job, no health care, fear, vulnerability to abuse and in too many cases no hope. […]

Unhurried Living

Life moves fast. Perhaps too fast. Sometimes so fast that it can almost feel like you’re missing out on living it. When life becomes hurried – it actually begins to rob you of life. So, what’s the alternative? Become a couch potato? Do nothing? Say ‘no’ to everyone? Probably not. That’s not living either. Is […]

Church & You

I love the Church. Not just the church I get to serve, but THE Church. The one entrusted to carry the message of the grace of Christ forward to each generation. The one vehicle of God’s message that He promised would never fail, but always prevail. The one enlisted to move the movement of Jesus […]

Rise Up

The resurrection is doubted and questioned by many, but believed by millions and by people all throughout history and around the world. But how do we know it is true? Professor Charlie Moule, the famous New Testament theologian offers one of the most sound pieces of historical evidence: “The birth and rapid rise of the Christian […]

Amazing Grace

Amazing Grace is the mantra that embraces all those that have embraced the Savior on the Cross. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs […]

Scars and Dents

I have a scar by my right eye. It’s from when I jumped off my bed as a 5 year old into a bean bag and missed. I didn’t actually miss, I just got redirected on the way there. Instead of being engulfed by beans and leather first, I took the detour, first bouncing off the […]

Stillness

When we’re hurried we chase everything that captures our attention. When we get still enough, we recognize what it is we really long for… Make some time and space for stillness… *thankful I got to practice a monthly day of solitude on Mt. Lemmon. Had some concentrated time to pray for our city, our church and our […]

Temptations Trade

The other night, I stole some money from someone at church. Now that I have your attention, let me set the record straight. It wasn’t that I tried out my newly acquired ninja skills. It really was a “trade”. My wallet for their $20 bucks. I had promised that what was in my wallet was […]

Up starts Down

The other day I was reading a few comments that Louie Giglio made surrounding leadership. He speaks about how the movement up really begins with moving down. Here’s some of his thoughts on humility and leadership: “Young leaders: humility is not a sign of weakness, rather it is our strength. For one, the lower we are […]

Museums Are Overrated

I’ve gotten to go to some pretty amazing Museums! They certainly are filled with great artifacts that tell the stories of long ago. They enlighten. They encourage investigation. They are full of beauty. They are totally worth your visit. But they don’t do anything for those living in the here and now. Museums inform people, […]

Empty is good

I got to stand just a few yards from where Jesus was put into this tomb – after giving his life on the cross. His life had ended – His body was carried here – and the dream of his movement sure seemed to have reached its end. That’s what the disciples felt. That’s what […]

Fight Back With Joy

We all have people that are good friends and they encourage us. There are others that just simply bless you with their presence. There are also people around us that inspire to be more. Sometimes God combines all three into one. I’m so excited for you to hear from a friend of mine that is an […]

Never Absent

“Out of sight, out of mind.” That’s how the saying goes. When something or someone is not visible, active or heard from, then they must be gone and thus we don’t focus or consider them. But is that really true? Remember the times following the concert where the crowd cheers, yells and claps until the band […]