nothing

I have bad news: there is no divine deal that if we do the right thing, everything will turn out how we wanted. I keep forgetting this is not in the contract. The week of Christmas, I may as well have hooked myself up to a slow-drip IV of butter and sugar. There was one … Continue reading →

giving up perfect

What would you give Jesus if he were actually coming in a week? When Jesus comes, what he wants from you is probably not frankincense, gold or myrrh (he has some already) or the safe, Sunday-School sanctioned gift, “your heart.” Nor does he come angry, demanding you make something of your miserable, wasted life. You … Continue reading →

the darkest day

Next Sunday is the Darkest Day. It’s the day that we get the least amount of light, the day the sun races to its hiding place in the west. And we are having a party. Because the Darkest Day is the day when it all turns around. It’s the day when we remember that this … Continue reading →

new places

“And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them.” Isaiah 42:16 ESV … Continue reading →

light

“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.” Isaiah 9:2 It’s here. Advent. The Season of Arrival. The Coming of How It Was Supposed To Be. It was relief that I felt when I woke this morning because … Continue reading →

Love notes

Sometimes — whether we are in awful, lonely places, or in average or even spectacular ones — we encounter some insistent reminder that we aren’t alone, that beauty is here, that miracles do happen. I call these “love notes from Jesus” and here’s the one I got this morning — ripe kiwis hanging from my … Continue reading →

fall

Fall leaves are confetti. They are the festive decorations for a hemispheric-wide, God-mandated party to celebrate what a good run we’ve had with the sunshine and everything it brought. But take away the pretty leaves, crisp air and pumpkin food, and what you’re left with is a farewell. Fall — I hate to say — … Continue reading →

put down your weapons and play

I’m working on playing these days, which I realize is a bit contradictory. Because the point of playing is kind of that you’re not working. So we’re doing this the best way we can, which is one step and then another, breathe and pay attention; wild, hollering runs through empty fields also encouraged. It was … Continue reading →

that voice

Ours can be such an intellectual faith. Especially for those of us who grew up in the church, we know all the answers and the fancy words and the stories. We have our shelf of commentaries and study guides and supplemental teachings. We are good, moral, nice citizens that use swear words only when it … Continue reading →

a declaration of independence

It’s Independence Day today, but really, Independence Day is any day we decide we’re ready for freedom. Foreign monarchy isn’t so much a problem for most of us, it’s the Soul Dictators, things like Fear or Anger that start small and seem reasonable enough and then suddenly you’re paying a high price to keep that … Continue reading →