God has very recently brought a few people into my life who are giving me the gift of encouragement. I cannot begin to describe the impact of words that say: “I care for you; I appreciate you; I see your struggles.” It is easy to let life happen around us and to stop taking the… Continue reading Life together
Category: Faith
Rain
It is raining in Los Angeles tonight. Our windows our open as we absorb the sound of falling water as if into our very souls. We are lovers of rain, and nights like this are certainly the exception here. I feel grateful and peaceful; grateful for the way the rain dampens certain activities outside that… Continue reading Rain
Quotation of the Week
What Ignatius and Green emphasize is the need to be hungry for God’s will in our life, and to give God a blank check. Yikes! That’s a scary thought. I like to consider God’s will within some conditions and frameworks of acceptability, not a blank check! Yet what both Ignatius and Green stress is that… Continue reading Quotation of the Week
Yea though I walk (or chase after small children)…
There’s this thing that happens in our neighborhood sometimes. It is as if a tangible change takes place in the air (and I’m not talking about the pollution), and suddenly the environment feels tense and toxic. I call it feeling “prickly”. It is as if my skin is sensing or reacting to something, and the… Continue reading Yea though I walk (or chase after small children)…
A God of Reversals
Will Willimon has a great post up right now called Divine Wisdom Among ‘Little Old Ladies’ where he responds to a negative comment somebody made about a specific group of churches: “There’s nobody left in the churches except for a few little old ladies.” As always he writes with warm humor and deep conviction, and… Continue reading A God of Reversals
My cup overflows
This past week Doug and I were served up a pretty giant helping of grace. Our car was in desperate need of some significant repairs, and the scope of work exceeded our resources. I received an email from someone I had never spoken to before, someone halfway across the country, offering to carry this burden… Continue reading My cup overflows
And the winner is…?
Two weeks ago, Kevin Blue (one of our teaching pastors) gave an excellent message at church titled: “Malcolm, Martin, and Messiah.” Part of his message traced the histories and teaching of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Jesus, and asked the question: what, ultimately, was the hope or vision that these leaders pursued? He… Continue reading And the winner is…?
Quotation of the Week
“As a Bible teacher, one of my basic concerns has become simply to get people to read the Bible with open eyes. Some people learn to; others do not. I want people to read the Bible, to be open to finding there things that they had not realized were there, to be enthralled and dazzled… Continue reading Quotation of the Week
All because of a bow-tie
I came to Fuller Seminary as a visiting student back in 1995. I had started seminary studies at North Park Theological Seminary but, having completed my undergraduate work at the college, I felt a desire for some change. I distinctly remember sitting in a Starbucks in Chicago with my trusted friend who happened to be… Continue reading All because of a bow-tie
Day off
Doug had the day off yesterday so we decided to drive out to Joshua Tree with the kids. We took Mercy there when she was about six months old, and she LOVED it. Since we don’t want poor Aaron to have total second child syndrome (though it’s probably too late), we though it would be… Continue reading Day off