What a strange, sad, somber Easter we celebrated this year. Our churches stayed empty and cold. Our families stayed away. And, if you are in Colorado like me, you must remembered that it snowed. The day was grey and overcast, and the snow fell on and on. It was such a quiet day at our... Continue Reading →
This Advent devotion may stand alone, but it is also meant to accompany a podcast: For the Love of Christmas: Hope that I recorded for Greenwood Community Church. To listen, please follow this link: http://greenwoodcc.libsyn.com/advent-podcast-week-2 . I pray it may be an uplifting and restful interlude for you in this season of heightened emotion and... Continue Reading →
Darkness: Two girls from my daughter's school will spend Christmas Day awaiting charges of conspiracy to commit murder. They intended to shoot students and teachers. Darkness: Yesterday my friends wept at the funeral of a sixteen-year-old boy who shot himself in his loving family's basement. Darkness: People dear to me face Christmas with empty chairs where those they... Continue Reading →
My dear friend lost her husband last month. Another friend wrote to me about her dark thoughts and anxiety because of this man's death. Since then, I have battled my own inexplicable anxiety. Meanwhile, I have been reading Timothy Keller's "Walking With God Through Pain and Suffering." So this morning I am thinking about our dark emotions and praying I can... Continue Reading →
I agreed to speak on these words at our church's Good Friday service. Then I thought, What have I done? I now must teach on the worst words in the entire Bible? Jesus cried these words moments before his death, not long before he screamed, gave up his spirit, and died. Exposure and Vulnerability The Romans... Continue Reading →
When those we love suffer, our helplessness and compassion overflow in small expressions of care. We know our gift is nothing in the face of what our loved ones are going through - it cannot answer excruciating questions or heal wounds. But we bring these gifts anyway; we stand on the porch with a pot of... Continue Reading →
The Deepest Love 