Why Prayer Matters

Prayer matters. What’s the role of prayer in our life? For some it’s seen as a life-saver – literally – they give it a toss whenever tragedy or crisis occur and are reaching out for God to intervene. For others, they roll through prayer as they would a Skype call to a distant relative with updates […]

Stockpile or Share

You’ve heard the adage that ‘sharing is caring.’ You’ve been told to share with your siblings probably a million times growing up. Maybe you’ve seen the Taco Bell commercial that mocks the concept of sharing. Lamenting that you’ve had to “share all your life” and with some cleverly placed ‘flashback’ footage of kids having to share […]

Love Sweats

There’s a lot of talk about love. Ideas, concepts and conversations around what it is and what it looks like. This post isn’t about debating the intricacies of it or an attempt to get our arms completely around it. This is about highlighting one reality of love. Love sweats. Love is active. It takes initiative. […]

Courageous Faith

Courage seems to be something we all desire to live with, but sometimes find lacking or waning within us. Why is it such a challenge to live courageously? What does it look like to live courageously in our faith journey with Christ? What does it look like to live life on adventures with God? There […]

Shine

Sometimes it’s the simplest statements that are the stickiest. The statement below sums up a calling Jesus gave us as his followers in Matthew 5 – to let our life & light shine in such a way that others might notice Him. I love the way C.S. Lewis puts it. May it stir you to let […]

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 […]