This weekend the oak trees began their long surrender to winter. They shed the dying layers, and I watched the leaves fall and collect on the driveway. I can take the blower and make the driveway look clean but in the morning their surrender will re-decorate my drive. Even though there is dying involved there […]
I grew up watching my Dad play fast-pitch softball. To this day I remember the unique experiences of the game. The sound of the ball hitting the catcher’s mitt and reverberating off of the wooden grandstand. The sound of the PA announcing the next hitter. The smell of peanuts and Cracker Jacks (just like the […]
I saw a friend of mine a couple of days ago. It’s been a while since we talked. When she saw me, she beamed with excitement and said, “I didn’t know that you wrote a book!” In fact, Playing Chase with God has been out for just a little over forty-five days. My heart warmed […]
I was sitting in my pastor’s car on a Monday. He said that he was planning to preach on prayer the coming Sunday. I paused before I spoke. I knew exactly what I wanted to say but wasn’t sure that I should. Then I remembered that I’m too old to keep my advice under wraps. […]
Mary Anne and I were hanging out with some married friends when one of them gave a look and a carefully worded sentence to their spouse. It was subtle enough to not be awkward, but an open secret to anyone who has been married long enough to recognize the theme. It was a shot across […]
I was up early this morning. After a brief time of journaling from Ezekiel, and reflection with Jesus in my living room chair, I wrote out a card for Mary Anne. The living room was still dark, and I had space to collect some thoughts about what this girl means to me. She is simple […]
The other day as I was watching an episode of The Deadliest Catch, Sig Hanson began to pray. Sig is the captain of the Northwestern: a notoriously successful crab boat in the Bering Sea fishery. He, like every captain on this massively successful reality show, is pretty salty. The show is a consistent bleeping of […]
I was in two different meetings yesterday where this question got tabled. No surprise, everybody seems to share the feeling that prayer sometimes feels difficult. What WAS surprising to me was that the answers to the question came back exactly the same. Different people in different gatherings answering the prayer question with doubt and uncertainty. […]
Just a couple of days ago I saw a family in grief. It was a memorial service for a 23-year-old son. Tragically killed and desperately loved. It was raw, honest, and beautiful all the way down. True love always is.
My Friend and I had just finished praying together. He looked at me with earnest eyes and asked, “How do you keep prayer working in your life?”