Unknown

Ever since I was a young boy, I have found it strange. Not scary, just strange. Which is not a bad thing. Strange can be good. Strange is effective. Strange is still strange though. It is only with understanding and experience that that which is strange becomes accepted as normal.

Disciples Follow

Disciples follow. That's what their primary job is. When disciples don't follow, they are outside of the realm of their faith - outside of their job descriptions. Outside of faith is nothing but jello.

Press Pause

It's funny how we get caught up on what we think we need vs. what we actually need, isn't it? Sometimes what we think we need tends to overshadow what is really going on in our hearts. But if we can quiet our hearts and minds through prayer, turning to God, our true needs will be revealed.

Carrier of a Cross

A lot of us carry crosses. They hang around our necks, dangle from bracelets or our ears. Some of us even have them tattooed on our bodies in various forms. We wear them for fashion, to remember something, or be inspired by it. But I'd venture to say that most of us don't carry a cross in the way Jesus carried his.

Jesus Is _______.

Does what others think about you matter? I don't mean to you of course. I am asking if it has an impact on the person who is thinking about you. Does what they think about you bear any weight on their relationship with you? How they behave around you with others? How they act toward you when you are alone? What they trust you with in their presence and in the absence of their presence? I would say the answer is ABSOLUTELY YES.

Daily Washing

I enjoy a bath. I'm not really a manly man as it were. Oh, I'm a big guy, but not very manly. I'm as teddy bear as they get and I like it that way. So it should not be a surprise that I enjoy a bath - full on with scented bubbles and a candle lit.  Yup. It's all good. I don't get to take a bath everyday. Most of the time I shower. But there's just something about a bath that renews me. After a good bath, well, I'm a different man.

Love Lavished

I was reading in 1 John the other day and was apprehended by a verse that I have continued to think about  over and over again. And every time I do, I find this beautiful refocusing... a re-centering of God in my life. I see the beauty in His extravagant love that was poured out for us and on us... and it just leads me to worship Him. I've done nothing to deserve His love. It isn't just His love that has me drawn in to this verse. It was the purpose of it.