God holds us responsible for how we impact others. Bless them, he blesses us. Needlessly damage them, he holds us accountable. Early on I learned to be cautious about encouraging people to do three things: to ride motorcycles for their inherent danger, to enter the ministry because of its disappointments and demands, and to become a writer, due to its difficulty and endless rejection. All three can enrich us, but they come with risks. About all three I often say, “If you can be satisfied and content without doing this, don’t do it.”
Wayne is…
Read MoreI never realized tuning a guitar had such complicated principles behind it! Of course, my tonal ability ranks with a paramecium, or likely lower, but this site, one that described how the right tension is set for a guitar string, based on the type of guitar, the style of playing, the diameter of the string, the amplitude of vibration and more, amazed me with the technical details. To summarize it, though, the correct and appropriate tension on a string allows beautiful music to be played by an excellent guitarist. But proper tuning requires…
Read MoreWe checked into our timeshare in Sedona last July, got settled in, then headed to happy hour at our favorite place, Enchantment Resort, with an awesome view of a red stratified sandstone cliff. In the cool freshness of the next morning, I got up well before Sheila and carried my coffee and a cinnamon raisin bagel to our patio, sitting back and checking out our surroundings, only to see these two trees who had invaded each other’s space. Maybe twenty feet away and one third enmeshed in one another. A juniper on the left, likely a camphor on the right. Two different species, yet connected. They had grown into one another’s space and…
Read MoreEver wonder why wrong seems so right, or why good seems so difficult? Ever wonder why we do wrong so often and so easily? Me too. Let’s explore that.
Read MoreWell-meaning friends and family warned me of the pain and difficulties that follow a total knee replacement, and I took them to heart. Desiring to regain a functional knee, I committed to doing the physical therapy, to keep ahead of the pain with drugs, and to not push too much. Two hours after surgery, they had me strolling to the bathroom with a walker for support and balance. I would continue to rely on that walker. Until I didn’t. Just four to five days after my April 1 surgery, I pushed the walker ahead of me from my living room recliner to the kitchen sink, grabbed a travel cup to get water to hydrate, then moved to the spigot at the refrigerator.
Then, to my total and unplanned surprise, I noticed…
Read MoreThis week, the cross outside our church fell. Not because of a storm, not because someone hit it—but because the wood at the foundation had slowly rotted away. On the surface, it still looked like a strong symbol of faith. But underneath, it was decaying—and eventually, that hidden weakness brought it down.
That’s a picture of cultural Christianity. It can look like faith on the outside…
Read MoreWhen we moved back to our hometown of Temecula some years back, we enjoyed savoring the flavors of local churches. Some pretty large, some pretty small, some in the middle, but the message at Oakstone Community Church caused me to think. Quite a bit. The text began with 2 Timothy 1:1, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God…” but then the pastor pointed out the difference from Paul’s first letter to Timothy, “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the command of God…”
A change of just one word, but…
Read MoreHistorians delight in their mantra, “The only absolute is change.” Ya gotta admit, change has become omnipresent, and fast. Ever think about analyzing if progress is progress? Let’s do that.
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