Each Tuesday morning we meet as a VP3 team over Zoom. And each Tuesday morning one of us brings a focusing thought. This morning Pam brought a prayer. As we read it aloud to each other, twice through, I think it quieted us and centered us a bit, which is not necessarily easy in this […]
Over the past couple weeks, my attention has been grabbed by “a parable” I recently encountered from Alan Hirsch, an author, thought leader, and missional church innovator. When the initial impact of COVID-19 was being felt across North America in March, Hirsch was interviewed about the dynamics of churches not being able to meet […]
We have all experienced many small and large changes over the past couple months. And it has all been so disorienting. One of the first things that happens when we are thrust into a time of disorientation is loss of language. We simply don’t have the words. Whether we feel like we have “walked off the […]
One of the persistent challenges of my life, one which I have been keenly reminded of over the past few weeks of Covid-19 shelter-at-home realities, is the hard work of simply “being with” people. No one who knows me well would accuse me of being a hyper-productive individual, but still I have always found it […]
A few weeks back a friend texted me a link to a song that had been sustaining him amidst some major difficulties within his family. So I began to listen to it… then again and again and again. I am still listening to it. Meditating on it actually. It has even entered the regular rotation […]
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Matthew 5:6 No book we read, no conversation we have, no sermon we hear, no spiritual discipline we practice, no Journey process we take can be transformative unless we have a thirst for a deeper life with God—and are prepared to […]
So, it’s really cold. I woke up this morning thankful for a warm house. Most days I take this warmth and safety very much for granted, but not this morning. The kids are home, the cartoons are on, and as I sit next to Rosie, all wrapped up in her new mermaid blanket, I am […]
A couple years ago now I pinned a poem to a wall in my office. It was sent from a woman named Kennette who was facilitating a group through The Journey and then A Way of Life. Her words remind me often of what is possible when a group of adults commit to having an extended conversation about God, themselves, […]
One person has written that we never know enough about Jesus to know what he is going to do next. Jesus continues to show up in unimaginable ways amidst the most unlikely of circumstances. On this Christmas Eve 2018—when certainly all is not well—let Madeleine L’Engle’s thoughtful words remind us of the reality of Jesus’ […]