I CAN NOT... make it, break it, take it. I CAN NOT... do it, be it, see my way through it. I CAN NOT measure up. I CAN NOT live it down. I CAN NOT... sort it out or work it out. I CAN NOT prove it. I CAN NOT change "it" -- whatever has...
You "blew my mind" twice yesterday, Lord! The second time was last night, when You posted my blog to this website. I was out of cell phone range, at a friend's house 2.5 hours away. I typed my brief post anyway, into the only technology available to me -- my cell phone. I hit the...
You often "confound" me, Lord in the most positive sense of that word. And I LOVE IT!!! "To Confound = To cause surprise or confusion in someone, especially by acting against their expectations." Like this morning. I was up early, with an "early bird" agenda. I went into the town of Madison (eight miles away)...
"We must deal with the world as it is, not as we might wish it to be." Sounds right, I guess. Sounds... responsible. Deal with reality. No wishful thinking. But does "dealing with the world" mean agreeing with it? Becoming more like it? I guess it all depends on your perspective. What is Your perspective,...
Lately, I've heard a lot of people say they are just "coasting." [Isn't that a good time for them to check and see if they are headed downhill?] Others are just "going with the flow." [What happens when they get to the waterfall?] The Path of Least Resistance is often inviting and compelling. Unless those who follow...
I wish I could say they were "happy" tears... but no amount of wishful thinking would make it so. They came from deep inside me, from that place of grief where Hope collides with Reality and comes away bruised. And the saddest thing about those tears was the place where they happened -- in church this...
I have been feeling like a "placeholder," Lord. Not in general... but in one particular, priceless arena. I was asked to step into a space that was supposed to be held by another. Another who had stepped away unexpectedly, for one or a million reasons. Another who was supposed to step back in... but who...
There are concealed weapons and Revealed Weapons... aren't there, Lord? I did something today I never imagined I would ever do. I completed a firearms safety training course! It consisted of two parts -- classroom instruction and hands-on shooting range practice. For the first time in my life, I held a handgun and fired 6...
Is it my imagination, Lord, or do we all crave encouragement of one kind or another? Even those who claim they don't need it (or anything/anyone outside of themselves)? I have seen what happens to people You have given me the privilege of encouraging. It may be someone I know and love. It may be...
When I look at the evening news, I can feel the enemy's temptation to despair. So much of what I see happening in the world is unprecedented. It is a new day and the weather outlook seems to be violent storms on every horizon. Israel was reborn as a nation -- reestablished as a Jewish state...
