Mountains and Valleys
Over the years I have noticed Christian music has trends in themes. A few years ago everyone was doing variations of Amazing Grace and using the word atmosphere. A little after that it was variants of It is Well and talking to our souls. In recent days the theme I’ve noticed is mountains and valleys. […]
Killing Me Softly | The Abortion Wars
I don’t know about you, but my heart has been breaking for weeks now. It began with heaviness as the Covington Catholic School lies spread through my friends on Facebook, and became a conflagration across the global media. And it shattered into a million pieces as I read of the celebrations on the floor of […]
Dangerous Faith in a Safe Space World | God Talk: Nazareth
We had a great sermon this past Sunday. I never had the pleasure of listening to Pastor Raf, as he is affectionately called, preach, and it was surely a blessing. Yet, and a part of me trembles to utter that word, there was a piece in the beginning of his sermon that sent waves of […]
Facebook is a Wonder – Spit Take | God Talk: Nazareth
I must be brief tonight, as I need to get up early for church tomorrow, and brevity has never been my strong suit. But, as I begin this new year, with hopefully some new tuning in to God, the next message that surfaced in my mind was go back to the beginning. And today, of […]
Ear Training | God Talk: Nazareth
I’ve loved music since I was a kid. I always had an ear for melody. My Dad gave me my first instrument, a guitar, when I was five years old. I still have that guitar, newly stringed, though I never did learn to play it. When I was about eight years old, as I may […]
Comfort Zone | God Talk: Nazareth
I do find it so intimidating when there are several messages in my head at once, and God demands, “Write!” without first telling me which parts go with what. I trust He will provide the sorting as I work out the message here. And perhaps that is indeed the beginning of this particular message about […]
Daddy Issues | God Talk: Nazareth
I’ve struggled with some things since I arrived here in Virginia back in March. As God called me out, repeatedly, to start writing consistently again here in this space, I fought with Him about what to write. I wrestled, and I struggled. This is so much harder than the first time. Then it was just […]
Never Alone | Do I believe?
It’s been an interesting journey coming to this place, physically and existentially, where I find myself these days. There is a message that’s been repeating, with increasing volume for months now. The Lord went from whispering to shouting: Do you believe? There are so many areas of faith where this touched in the last couple […]
Community v. Mission
When Corey and I left our long time church for good back in January of 2017 the Lord had already graciously provided a new community for us. The previous fall saw us on mission to explore the churches in and around Jasper. I had actually already had a sit down with the pastor of one […]
Silent Weeping
It’s been a weird couple days, and it’s strange the things that hit you. Sunday we hear of a church shooting. It touches me, of course, it does. Yet, no weeping. There are ongoing personal struggles and frustrations weighing on me, still, no tears. Then, out of the blue, I settle in to look at […]
A Heart | To Have or Not to Have
Embed from Getty Images My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. ~ Psalm 73:26 A phrase is coming up a lot lately. It’s one I’ve heard for years in Christian circles, and didn’t pay much attention to. But lately, the idea of having a “heart” for […]
Believing | God, The Devil and Demons
Be sober-minded and alert. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ~ 1 Peter 5:8 The Struggle I realized this week that I’ve been struggling for some time with God. Over the last couple days in particular, I have come to a place of recognizing that I am verging on furious with Him, which is odd for me. […]
Being Holy
I was scrolling Facebook on my phone the other day (which explains why I missed the context of the comment that caught my eye), and I ran across a statement that made me cringe. When I went back to read it in context, I have to say that the person who made the comment, in […]
Being Free
We live in a country where we talk a lot about freedom, often equating the concept with our rights. Having been fairly engaged in political discourse for more than a decade now and growing up in the Navy where I understood that most of the adults I knew were serving the nation to protect our […]
The Gospel of the Unchurched
It’s the beginning of the New Year. Among most churches that means some reflection about intentions for the year ahead. Among Methodists, and I imagine other denominations that view themselves as having an evangelical nature, that means certain terms start flying around more than normal, reminding me once again how irritating buzz words are. Yesterday, […]