We purchased our three year old Temecula house back in ’88, with a pathetic patio cover put in the back yard by the previous owner. A landscape guy, not a builder. Oh, it looked nice, but the 4x4 posts soon rotted from being in contact with the dirt, and the header and rafters were much too flimsy and far apart to support anything. Insert “hammock” here. So when we replaced it we had a contractor build a covered patio, to code, and I watched how he did it. Our next step—put in a lattice patio cover and pavers for the ground level in the front for evening sunsets. So I checked out ...
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by Van Gogh
A Holy Consumption
This shouldn’t happen at 68, but the fresh result of combining existing concepts still amazes me. One word from this week’s sermon and taking the Lord’s Supper combined with my mind’s semi-misuse of a word to amaze me. Here’s what happened. Our pastor used the word “holy,” fairly briefly, that we all should be set apart for God. My mind then transposed that word “holy” into a completely different word, “whole,” which is the meaning of the word “salvation.” Soon after ...
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Who Is This Jesus?
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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