I was at a retreat center recently on a cold, windy drizzly day. I had a raincoat, boots and a sweater but even with all that, I still didn’t want to wander outside too much. The dark colors, broken limbs, dead leaves, gray sky and harsh wind all reminded me of the seeming death in winter. Yet, in reality, things are just sleeping in the winter and spring will come. Green will emerge, grass will grow, the sun will warm …
Tag: hope
As a young boy, Frank loved milk. For breakfast he had milk and cereal. At lunch he always drank milk with his sandwich and his mom made him hot chocolate milk after school. And, yes, like all kids, he loved to dip Oreos in his milk. Frank loved it when his mom went to the grocery store to get food…and milk. When Frank was older, he met a dairy farmer while out traveling one day. The farmer asked …
At the entrance to Wal-Mart and other stores this time of year, you’ll hear the familiar Salvation Army bell ringing on behalf of the voiceless…for those in need. Perhaps you’ll be inclined to give an extra gift or two….maybe even bake something for a neighbor or donate items to a charity. This heart of giving to others is what Christmas foretells. Christ coming to earth to give the gift of salvation and redemption to each of us…..to bridge the gap …
Recently, a group of us from the Atlanta suburbs went downtown to volunteer with an inner city ministry called Atlanta Dream Center. After an hour or so putting together food bags and getting prepared, we jumped in our car and followed three youth leaders at Dream Center to our destination….a housing project of largely poor families. As we drove in, we were face-to-face with another culture….all seemed dark, empty and a bit unsafe. Up came a large, extra loud …
From 1991 – 1993 scientists embarked on a bold mission to replicate the world’s biological systems in an enclosed facility called Biosphere II. The Arizona-based experiment included a crew that lived in the “closed world” for two years. The crew grew their own food, did experiments, learned how to function together (that part of the mission did not go so well) and they tried to replicate the natural environment of plants and the other building blocks of life. One of …
If you are like me, you probably have days when you get so wrapped up in life’s rapid-fire events that you leave God out. Everyday events, conflicts, fears, interpersonal clashes, decisions and trials get solved….more or less…on our own. This, to say the least, does not result in the inner peace that God promises us. I am fortunate that in a moment of quiet reflection some time ago, God gave me a image in my mind that was so real I could almost feel it. It was a …
I visited a prison recently as part of my job. As I walked along a sidewalk near some repair work being done, I was struck by the sight of several jail cell doors stacked on top of each other. These once impermeable doors were now of no use for keeping prisoners at bay. What once held back criminals was now just a stack of metal…their usefulness, and power, gone. Prison cell doors are massive, weighing 500 – 2,000 pounds each. You …
Pride was the great sin that started in motion a sad state for Adam and Eve and the entire human race. Humility and dependance on God is the opposite of pride. Pride says, “I can do it”….humility toward God says “You can do it”. It was Saint Augustine who said, “Do you wish to rise? Begin by descending. You plan a tower that will pierce the clouds? Lay first the foundation of humility.” While reading a devotional on humility recently from My Utmost for His Highest (portion …
Is it true that God is really with us…all the time?…even when things seem out of control, disorganized, and life’s purpose seems hollow? Is God still there when people hurt you, when you get slighted or when you feel inferior to everyone around you? Ever been in a meeting where personalities clashed, emotions roared and feelings were hurt. Ever sling a little mud back at the person that’s attacking you? I have. I recently had one of those meetings where …
If you struggle with depression, guilt, loneliness, shame, sin, emptiness, sorrow….or if you sense that there are corners of your heart that are not aligned to the Maker….lift this prayer to God above. My Soul’s Reprieve My heavy heart, oh tired and gray its weight I surely feel longing for a fairer day when buds to blossom deal. ~ Then from above a tear appears and bits of light burst forth, dark corners sigh and burden wanes oh hint of life and birth. ~ Then from above a jewel …