This last Sunday, we celebrated a baby’s birth. We love the baby, who has a touching story. That’s Christmas, and it’s true. We also love that first aspect of his nature—grace. Forgiveness, healing, restoration, and hope that our pasts won’t be held against us. That also is true. Yet we sometimes struggle with another truth...
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An Idaho Sunset
How Big is Your God?
Each bike trip seems to develop its own spiritual impact. One year my prayer and worship led to some conclusions about doing ministry. Another astounded me with the beauty of the northwest and Glacier National Park. Some deliver great times with long time friends and fellow followers of Jesus. This year changed the pattern. We rode 3800 miles in eight states, from near sea level to over 10,000 ft. What most struck me was what creation reveals about the Creator, and I still struggle to integrate it. Here’s why...
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image from ebay.com
Prayer Changes Things? What Things?
A cheap plaster of Paris plaque, much like the one above, imprinted on my values early one. Just 2” X 3” at most, dark brown. But I believed it, tried to live it, and certainly saw it occur. Then yesterday a friend Donna posted a quote from Mother Teresa, “I used to believe that prayer changes things. Now I know that prayer changes us and we change things.”A nice discussion followed with diverging ideas, where ...
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image by Family Handyman
Upside Down and Backwards
Do you struggle with God's desire that we be righteous, even as you face the reality of your fallenness? I've asked a good friend, Dan DeWitt, to be our guest columnist this week to explore that. I have been wanting to get rid of my lawnmower for several months now. It would cut the grass, but ...
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image by azquotes.com
Two Kinds Of People?
Many divide people into 2 groups: old-young, smart-stupid, lazy-motivated, and more. Kind of like the above quote, which I have no clue what he means. While sounding profound, these distinctions typically provide a simplistic view of life and humanity. BUT, God himself places people in numerical categories, so let's explore that just a bit...
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image from commons.wikimedia.org
Suck It Up
Life can suck us dry. Home life. Work life. Economic life. Family life. Yeah, the list can go on. We get exhausted and have little to give. We need a break, some rest, like the lion above. A time to refill spiritually, emotionally, physically, relationally. But we can't seem to find, or create, a break in the fast pace. Even so, sometimes we need to suck it up. Not always, but sometimes. Here's why...
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image from reelyredd.com
The Duel
The hopeful Republican and Democratic Presidential candidates have become quite testy with one another just before the New Hampshire primary, eagerly pointing out character flaws and ignorance and incompetence, which merely confirms the disgust many of us have toward the politicians in Washington. But the worst of this cannot match the first levels of political disagreement in our country.Aaron Burr served as Vice President ...
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image by maristpoll.marist.edu
Voting Our Values
Immigration. Terrorism and war. Welfare and entitlements. Abortion. The economy. Crime. Drug legalization. Gay marriage. These topics dominate conversations and the airwaves. Yep, another election year. And I'm sure you're eagerly awaiting my input on how you should vote...not. But I will anyway, because ...
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