The latest from my blog
I write on all sorts of topics such as Celebration & Wonder, Community & Discipleship, Intimacy with Christ, and Redemption & Grace. I share my random thoughts in Miscellaneous Musings.
I’m glad you’ve joined me!
How to Acquire Power, Love and Self-control (Romans 8:15 and 2 Timothy 1:7)
Fighting my way through the sludge of distraction and discouragement, I found my way to the rocking chair with the small, round table set before it... a place of invitation for me. A place to sit, be still, gaze at the mammoth snowflakes adorning the forest outside...
Romans 8:12-17 (Ditching Slavery)
"So, then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh- for if you are living according to the flesh you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are being led by...
Romans 8:1-11 (No Condemnation)
I spent almost the first half of my life believing the exact opposite of Romans 8:1-11. This sacred chapter opens with "Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." I couldn't even get past the first line. This was incomprehensible to...
A Preface to My Musings on Romans 8
A friend invited a few of us along to sojourn through Romans 8 during the month of January, encouraging us to write about it for the purpose of memorizing it, growing through it, and encouraging others to memorize and grow from it. I am extending my hand to you,...
God’s Household
Paul has been reminding us for the past couple-thousand years of how the Lord takes divided people and weaves us into one Body, His Church. He uses the term "the household of God" to describe us in the final verses of Ephesians 2, and it is His description of that...
My Favorite Color
I sat across the table from a friend who was both rejoicing and grieving, as only a Christian can do. She had brought me a gift, a Christmas present, to commemorate our meal and our friendship. I reached into the bag, pulling out a beautiful mug. On it, surrounded...
Purposeful Suffering
I ran into an old friend today. He is suffering. Every time I see him he is suffering from physical and emotional maladies. His life seems to feel more and more hopeless as time moves along, and I just don't really know what to say. It's hard, but the suffering is...
Hypomone
I sat at a friend’s dining room table, the sunshine pouring over my left shoulder and warming the back. She tells me she has been studying James, specifically where He tells us to “consider it all joy… when (we) encounter various trials” because our trials produce...
Vanity of Vanities!
I used to read Ecclesiastes and scratch my head. Solomon was just a little too wise for me, and his melancholy nature didn't resonate with my desire to see a cup half-full. But after this clarifying past year and a half, I am starting to understand the book a little...
The Kancamagus Highway
We drove the Kancamagus Highway in early October, prime time for the spectrum of Fall colors... but it wasn't. The colors were beginning to pop, but they hadn't hit peak yet. In fact, many of the colors had yet to change. Smiles kept remarking on how sad he felt...
The Trickle Down of Grace
Slinking into the rocking chair, I let the spine fall open on my well-worn Bible, like an invitation into Majesty. I glance down at the page, and my eyes fall on a bold red rectangle, squaring off words. 1 Corinthians 12:22-26, to be exact. Leaning over the...
Ode To A Cute Boy On Our Anniversary
Twenty years ago, my dad walked me through a field on a misty Fall day, to meet the man I had already committed my life to. With a twinkle in his eye, and a smile on his lips, he asked, "Last chance. You wanna turn back?" "No way, Daddy," I retorted and we walked...