As my journey continues, I love to write notes along the way. This is the place where I share reflections on Scripture, culture, music and life, and I’d love to hear your thoughts as well. Join me, won’t you?
Sitting Shiva
I’ve never seen this grill before. I’m sitting on the worn striped seat cushion of an old metal chair. Along with its three blue wire-frame counterparts and matching table, this chair has kept watch over my grandparents’ patio for years. In front of me sits a new shiny new grill with a dozen settings and easy-turning knobs and the kind of clean appearance that comes from not being used nearly enough. My family made the trek from Fort Myers to Austin to join our relatives in commemorating my grandfather’s passing...
read moreStillness Brings You Clarity
The backwater lake shimmered in the light of the mid-morning sun. Ripples danced through the water like figure skaters on ice, making chaotic patterns interspersed with brief moments of circular perfection where the fish poked up for a bite to eat. Across the water was a stand of cypress trees, their ghost-white forms stretching high into a cobalt and cotton-ball sky, with only their thick layers of spanish moss weighing them down. It was a place of peace. As I sat there in the quiet, a thought occurred to me. Looking at the rippling lake,...
read moreLet the Past be the Past
The white metal sign looked so lonely, its faded yellow trim standing out in a field of brittle grass and flowing weeds. Once upon a time it had been an important warning marker to approaching boats. At some point in the past it had served a purpose, had helped travelers avoid danger by not letting them float too close to the jetty that would likely bring their boat to a bitter end. But that was a long time ago. Now the sign was abandoned and irrelevant. The world had moved on, leaving only echoes and memory of a past when the sign served...
read moreIt’s a Good Thing Your Bag Has Holes
Seriously? Another one??? I stared at the grocery bag in annoyance, one hand holding its flimsy form up to the light as the other spread open the beige plastic for examination. Yep, two nice-sized holes in the bottom made this one a no-go, too. You see, I use grocery bags for trash liners in my kitchen. It’s free, it’s easy since I don’t generate a ton of garbage living alone, and they keep giving them to me so I might as well use them! (I know, I know, I could get reusable grocery bags…but then where would I...
read moreIs God Contradicting Himself?
As a pastor, I often get questions of a more theological nature. Thursdays are the day I like to post some on the blog. Enjoy! —Pastor Phillip QUESTION: No matter how many times I discuss the following, I just cannot get it settled in my mind. “…God our Savior…desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth…” (1 Timothy 2:3b-4) How can they [be saved] if [Jesus speaks in parables] “So that they may indeed see but not perceive and may indeed hear but not understand,...
read moreYour Father Wants Good Things For You
Four minutes in, I discovered the truth: small children are terrible at picking strawberries. There we were, two families with kids and a single guy, exploring a “U-Pick” strawberry patch on a sunny Sunday afternoon. The air was cool and dry and the sky was clear with a bright sun overhead, streaming down on fields of ripe, red, ready-to-eat strawberries just waiting to be picked. Then there they went, the two-year-old and the six-year-old, ready to try their hand at field work and eager to fill their buckets with the...
read moreSometimes God’s Love Has to Take You Apart
“Why won’t this stupid thing work???” I had been so blessed when my friends gave me their old Playstation 3 video game console, even though the disc drive didn’t work. I’d heard that replacement parts were available online for cheap, and I’ve been known to do a bit of fix-up work on electronics before. Maybe this time I could actually make it work! I ordered the replacements. A neighbor and I disassembled the machine and removed the old parts. The new ones arrived a few days later and I installed...
read moreGod Wants to Expand Your Boundaries
It’s hard for a two-year-old to stay in the boundaries. “I will run in the way of your commandments, when you enlarge my heart!” -Psalm 119:32 There they were, my godson and his friend, two little boys running ’round in the fresh-cut grass with a solid blue sky overhead. As the sun slowly set behind the house, the kids were laughing and playing, chasing and tackling one another… and getting steadily closer to the edge of the lake. “Boys,” said daddy, “you can play in the yard but don’t...
read moreJesus Makes Dead Things Live Again
It was obvious to everyone: the boy was dead. “And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, [the unclean spirit] came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, ‘He is dead.’” -Mark 9:26 Nice try, Jesus, but this one was too much. Sorry, dad, better start making funeral plans. Sorry, disciples, looks like your man isn’t as magical as you thought. Move along, folks, nothing to see here except a corpse. … But Jesus knew something they didn’t. “Most of them said,...
read moreMaybe That Barrier is Shorter Than it Looks
Concrete is a bear to get through. I can hear the sound of the surf on the other side. I can smell the salt and feel the sand under my toes but my journey has been blocked. I can see the other side through a little drainage tube cut into the concrete. It’s certainly nothing I could slip through, but it’s just enough to torment me with thoughts of what great things might be waiting for me on the other side if I could just get past this barrier that’s holding back my progress. This is not a new obstacle. The weathered...
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