Do you consider yourself a good listener? James writes: “Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry…(1:19). I’d appreciate hearing any thoughts you have about what you think makes for a good listener (or, for that matter, a poor listener).
There is so much to love. Creation, Jesus, God’s Word, God’s will, and other people. So why aren’t we “smitten?” Why aren’t our spirits constantly buoyed by the glory and wonder of it all?
Because there is also so much to hate. About creation, Jesus, God’s Word, God’s will, and other people.
Does Jesus “loom large” in your daily life? The words “loom large” came to me this morning, seemingly out of nowhere. According to Webster’s, the word “loom” means “to appear in an impressively great or exaggerated form.” Is it possible to ‘exaggerate’ the importance of Jesus?
Maybe you heard or read this story in last week’s news. For me it’s an earthly glimpse into Trinitarian love and what it means to live out of our true glory:
With two runners on base and a strike against her, Sara Tucholsky of Western Oregon University uncorked her best swing and did something she had [...]
“LOVED X 3″ was the theme of the retreat, and looking back on it, I see that we were. It felt messy to me as I was going through it: so many of us, and all so different; so many hopes and so many wounds. But of course! That’s the point, isn’t it. (Papa laughs and [...]
“Truly you are a God who hides himself, O God and Savior of Israel. All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced; they will go off into disgrace together. But Israel will be saved by the Lord with an everlasting salvation; you will never be put to shame or disgraced, to [...]
One big enemy of open-heartedness is anxiety. An undercurrent of worry will carry significant amounts of attention and energy away from the enterprise of real living. (Open-heartedness is real living.) For those of us who are doggedly conscientious, carrying on while feeling chronically overwhelmed can become a way of life — but it’s not usually an open-hearted way of life.
One day this past week while I was asking God to give me the wherewithal to do a hard, semi-heroic thing I thought might be a good thing me to do, it seemed that He interrupted me and said, “Today just work on being open-hearted.” Well, I was relieved. That sounded much easier.
I have a one of the best seats in the house, and that’s one of the reasons it feels right to peck away at the computer trying to pass on at least a little bit of what I see. At the same time, I’ve been thinking this morning about the thing Jesus emphasized — about [...]
Never thought I’d see the day: Eric Barnes out-’hammed’. By a little girl! I can’t imagine doing this justice, but let me give it a try. This redoubtable and remarkable moment simply must be described for the poor unfortunates who didn’t get to see it with their own eyes.
The setting was BRC’s first Kids Hope USA - Van Corlaer party. Huge [...]
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