My Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) was one of the most formative experiences of my seminary training. It taught me how to pay attention to what's truly important. Let me explain…
May 21, 2024
I want to hear from God. Nothing feels worse than leaving voicemails for God, wondering if he even pays attention to me. Yet at times I get a little weary of hearing from God. Let me explain…Sometimes hearing from God feels like getting loads of messages in my spam box. All the messages seem to be about trying “this” to improve my spiritual formation or practicing “that” in order to finally get rid of that sinful habit.
April 16, 2024
I was sitting with a dear friend as he poured out his anguish. The story of his horrific circumstances brought tears to both our eyes. After some silence he whispered, “I know God promises to turn everything meant for evil into good, but I don’t believe it! How can this ever be good?”
March 26, 2024
Have you ever thought to yourself, “Arghh! I just wish I could find the balance!” Yeah, me too. It seems like every area of my life is always changing and leaving me feeling unsteady. So long as I believe I can find this balance, I feel a vague sense of guilt for not having it.
March 19, 2024
Does prayer ever feel like dialing God’s number, but never getting through? I have had seasons of my life when prayer feels like leaving voicemails for God. I spend time in prayer, but God doesn’t pick up the phone. What do we do with times like this?
March 12, 2024
You and I don’t have enough time. That’s why we’ve got to steal it. The Holy Spirit, that mischievous usurper of the world’s priorities, beckons us to steal time away from the boring grown-up conversations about death and taxes. Jesus himself whispers, “Follow me, I know a secret hideout!” Our heavenly Father catches our eye as we depart and winks knowingly as if to say, “I’ll meet you there!”
February 20, 2024
Hello friend, today I want to offer something a little different: a personal meditation I wrote (and a piece of art I created) upon re-reading a section of von Balthasar’s Prayer. The meditation follows the art.
January 30, 2024
“We all are born into the world looking for someone looking for us, and that we remain in this mode of searching for the rest of our lives.” - Curt Thompson I have a deep desire to know God. And not just know him, but for him to know me. For him to see me. My heart is touched by passages of scripture where God directly intervenes in someone’s life. John 1:43-51 is one such passage.
January 19, 2024
Seeing everyone’s end-of-year accomplishment posts or new-year's-resolutions posts on social media makes me feel small. I liked your different way of thinking about self-improvement. However, I do wonder, when measuring progress in life, is it purely between God and me, or do people around me play a role as well? Am I turning to God to escape the difficult requirement of improving?
January 18, 2024
God has given me eternal life and he is bent on making me new, but now the question is, “how does God actually change me?” One thing I know, information alone doesn’t change me. Experience of God—his presence, love, and grace—does. Just knowing that God loves me doesn’t change my desires anymore than just knowing that heart surgery exists fixes my heart. I have to actually receive the surgery.
January 16, 2024