I haven’t always been a reader of Scripture. In fact, it was only about eight years ago when I was slowly introduced to reading the Bible. I remember sitting in a typical Sunday school setting with fellow churchgoers discussing John Ortberg’s book, “If You Want to Walk On Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat.” This book was on the eleven verses of Scripture when Peter walks on water toward Jesus during the dawn of a windy day. I was blown away that an entire BOOK was written on (essentially) eleven verses of Scripture! Rather than discuss, I…
Tag: Mystery
Empty Jars & Transformation.
I don’t really know how transformation works. It’s a mystery of how time carries and our interiors are rearranged. How one year we have one opinion and a few years later, we are on the other side of the same issue. Or, how we start out stingy never sharing and then become increasingly generous. I suppose some people don’t really seek after transformation. Or, maybe they look back and see how things are different than they used to be, but they don’t think much of it. For me, transformation is imperative. Growth, shifting, evolving, changing, whatever you want to call…
Waiting in Empty Spaces
I was stopped at a red light a few days back when I spotted a bumper sticker on the back of an AT&T van. It said, “Put your phone down. Keep your eyes on the road. It can wait.” Although this whole message is an imperative one for us in this age of texting, I found myself honing in on three little words. It. Can. Wait. This is not asked of us too often in 2016. These days, everything is at our fingertips. News. Music downloads. Photos instantly shared. Fast lanes at amusement parks. We can even grab hot soup…
The Unfolding Path
Making a list of goals and resolutions didn’t lure me this January. However, one invitation came through my inbox I couldn’t ignore. Christine Valters-Painter, creative author and online abbess, tenderly asked her subscribed readers to join in on “Give Me a Word 2016”. Each day, for 12 days, I received an offered spiritual practice for how to allow a word to choose me for the upcoming year. In the past, I’ve participated in similar notions, where I chose a word that appealed to me for the year. But, this was different. Instead of grabbing an interesting word and attempting to…
Thoughts on Healing
What is your reaction when you hear these two words: God’s healing? Is it joy? Heartache? Questions? Anger? Wonder? Doubt? Or, maybe, something other. God’s healing has been a conundrum for me for some time. Where some have stories of instant healing, others remain ill, be it from physical or mental addictions, disease, or heartache. Where some in the world live life with health, wealth and vibrancy, others in the world lack for clean water and medical opportunity. When the news we watch is full of toxicity and evil in the world; it makes me wonder, “Where is God’s healing?”…