JANUARY 30, 2025

 “You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave...Fools stand on their island of opportunities and look toward another land. ” 

― Henry David Thoreau

EXODUS 22-24

21“Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.

22“Do not take advantage of the widow or the fatherless. 23If you do and they cry out to me, I will certainly hear their cry.(22:21-22)

MATTHEW 20:17-34

24When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,27and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

JOURNAL 

Unfortunately and way too often I find that I waste time worrying over what's next. While planning and the ability to imagine and dream is one of the gifts of being human, it's also a curse, especially when it robs us of the opportunities for life that exist right here, right now.  

I often find that I have moments of clarity in my life where I really feel God has revealed truths about himself, about life and a clarity over what is really important. That's one of the reasons I started journaling. I often need these reminders in the tough times but also in the moments where life is good and all seems right with the world. Because it's in those moments where I can be tempted to take this gift of life for granted.

Journal from April 9, 2016

I've learned that there are no guarantees

That you can't bank on time

I've learned that you can never really walk in someone else's shoes 

so therefore you should never judge them

I've learned that experiences shape our thoughts and our actions

what you do and how you respond has a lot to do with what you learned through experience

I've learned that shame is toxic

It is the biggest threat to suck out all the energy and passion of our lives

I've learned that human beings are miraculous amazing creatures

we are equipped for both profound exquisite good as well as horrible evil

I've learned that most often we underestimate our ability 

therefore we sell ourselves and the good we actually can do way short

I've learned that sunrises and sunsets are amazing

pausing to watch and reflect breathes life into my heart

I've learned that rain is necessary 

and that tears are just as important

I've learned that music is a beautiful crazy gift

to embrace it connects us to others in ways that cannot be explained

I've learned that I would rather play and lose 

than watch and win

I've learned that connecting to another human being is vital

it produces a joy that can never be found alone

I've learned that all most people ever want is to connect and be understood

when it happens heaven is glimpsed...when it doesn't hell is unleashed

I've learned that children can teach us more than any book

yet we often are too distracted to notice

I've learned that the intricacies and details of this world are beyond words

the profound creativity convinces my heart of a creator

I've learned that truth and love conquer all

maybe not in the moment but definitely in the end

I've learned that every moment we are alive is a gift

to understand this produces passion, peace and joy and to 

fully embrace it means we live each moment in daring bold ways

I've learned that there is no better time than right here, right now, to create, to love, to mend,

to cry, to laugh, to hold, to fight, to win, to lose, to dance, to sing and to be overcome by the beauty and epic wonder of this life.

13You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh^a ; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”^b 

GALATIANS 5:13-15

JANUARY 29, 2025

  “Self-sufficiency is the enemy of salvation. If you are self-sufficient, you have no need of God. If you have no need of God, you do not seek Him. If you do not seek Him, you will not find Him.” 

― William Nicholson, Shadowlands

EXODUS 19-21

2“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

3“You shall have no other gods before^a me.

4“You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. 5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments.(20:2-6)

MATTHEW 20:1-16

13“But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

16“So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

JOURNAL 

Commandments 1 and 2 set the foundation of the Bible. It is in these verses that all things take shape. God is to be our God and anytime something else takes his place we are ultimately broken and our sin is revealed.  The parable that Jesus tells here in Matthew affirms this point further, if God is truly our God, we would be grateful for whatever he gives us regardless of what someone else receives.

These are some of those verses that I tend to nod in affirmation about but rarely do I let them truly sink into my soul. Most days I want an easy day...I want things to be light and sure and easy. Yes I want to be successful but I would like for that success to be easy success not tough success. I also want to know that I am special and that I am special in comparison, preferably without having to do a whole lot. If I really break it down...I tend to gravitate toward two extremes, selfishness or laziness. 

And there it is...that's why these verses exist. I need a God, I need an authority other than myself. Left purely to my own devices to figure out the world I am naturally blinded by my own needs and emotions. I need something more loving, honorable and higher than myself to guide me.  Without this authority I would be completely overcome by the world. Yet with God I have reason to hope and believe that my own tendencies will not ultimately destroy me. Better yet I get the assurance that I can truly live a life of purpose and one that ultimately ends in joy and love.

1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.

1 JOHN 5:1-4

JANUARY 28, 2025

  “In the same way a Christian is not a man who never goes wrong, but a man who is enabled to repent and pick himself up and begin over again after each stumble--because the Christ-life is inside him, repairing him all the time, enabling him to repeat (in some degree) the kind of voluntary death which Christ Himself carried out." - Mere Christianity” 

― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

EXODUS 16-18

13The next day Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening. 14When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, “What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit as judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?”

15Moses answered him, “Because the people come to me to seek God’s will. 16Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God’s decrees and instructions.”

17Moses’ father-in-law replied, “What you are doing is not good. 18You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. 19Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you.(18:13-19)

MATTHEW 19:16-30

16Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”

17“Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

18“Which ones?” he inquired.

Jesus replied, “ ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony,19honor your father and mother,’^c and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’^d ”

20“All these I have kept,” the young man said. “What do I still lack?”

21Jesus answered, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.”

22When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

23Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. 24Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.”

25When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

26Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

27Peter answered him, “We have left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us?”

28Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife^e or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life.30But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.

JOURNAL 

I love this interaction Moses has with his Father-in-law. It shows how God uses others in our lives. It also shows the importance of humility and being willing to give up control. This I think is behind Jesus' command to the young man. His wealth is a hindrance to him fully trusting God. Wealth has taken the place of God. 

I think one of the mistakes here and one I've often struggled with is thinking that the problem needs to be eliminated...in other words, give up the money and then it will be easier to choose God. Yet I believe there is danger in finding simple answers, I think Jesus was making a point rather than giving an absolute command. The point being that we will always have struggles and often the pursuit of wealth can be just as much of a problem as actually having wealth. The issue is not money...it's the heart. To go further, it's anything that robs us of our attitude, effort and focus...other than God and truth. 

For me that opens up the box to all kinds of "good things" that can tempt my heart away from being my best. The test for me is to honestly assess whether my attitude, effort or focus is altered and whether or not God is behind it. Reality is that those are the 3 things I can control. Those are the 3 things God always allows me to change...regardless of my circumstance. It is also in the evaluation of those 3 things that I face my own sin and my own shortcomings. 

Thank you Father for another day, another chance to have a great attitude, to give my best effort and to focus on what's ultimately important.  

37On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”^c

JOHN 7:37-38

JANUARY 27, 2025

“Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring – it was peace.” – Milan Kundera

EXODUS 13-15

13Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. 14The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”(14:13-14)

MATTHEW 19:1-15

13Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.

14Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”15When he had placed his hands on them, he went on from there.

 JOURNAL 

Two years ago yesterday we had to put our dog Freddy to sleep. I'm gonna leave this post as a tribute and as a reminder of what we can learn from our pets.

Yesterday we had to say goodbye to our dog Freddy. While it was absolutely the right decision it is still hard because I just think that a dog (pet's) love is just so pure. I think it is one of the closest things we have in experiencing God's love, much in the way of how Jesus talks about children. A dog doesn't care whether you failed or succeeded today or whether you live in a shack or a mansion. He doesn't care if you betrayed him or forgot about him or talked terrible about him. He just shows up everyday and loves. Dogs accept your love without reservation or doubt and trust you till the very end. 

After we posted...It was amazing how many people commented and communicated sincere heartfelt concern and love to us yesterday and today. It just shows that in the end...what really matters ( at our core ) has nothing to do with possessions, intellect, success or really anything that our modern culture pronounces as important. What is vitally important though is how we handle love. How we accept it and how we give it. I think we can learn a great lesson from our furry companions...I picked this up from and article on "The ways you should be more like your dog".  

• Always trust your instinct
• Love unconditionally without trying to figure out why.
• Learn to forgive even what seems unforgivable.
• Be a loyal and devoted friend.
• Play, play, play, and play some more.
• Live completely and totally in the moment.
• Be aware of the feelings of those around you.
• Let yourself go totally nuts when you see someone you love.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no account of wrongs. 6Love takes no pleasure in evil, but rejoices in the truth. 7It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

1 Corinthians 13:4-6

JANUARY 26, 2025

  “[To have Faith in Christ] means, of course, trying to do all that He says. There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him, it must follow that you are trying to obey Him. But trying in a new way, a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but because He has begun to save you already. Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you.” 

― C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

EXODUS 11-12

12“On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord. 13The blood will be a sign for you on the houses where you are, and when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No destructive plague will touch you when I strike Egypt.(12:12-13)

MATTHEW 18:21-35

32“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

35“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

JOURNAL 

These verses are very hard to deal with...the difference between the old and the new testament astounds me at times. It is so hard for me to accept that God would intentionally kill young children because of the rebellion of one man. I have always just dismissed these verses but honestly they really do bother me. Especially when juxtaposed with Jesus words about not harming children. 

Then we have Jesus words on how we should cancel the debt of those who owe us money just as God has canceled our debt to him. This is easier to accept, however what is hard is the mental debt that I sometimes hold...especially when I feel that someone doesn't recognize my kindness or my efforts. I feel that they owe me and t hat is just as much a debt as someone owing me money. Maybe even more because it has a way of affecting my heart and attitude about life in general. I believe this is precisely why Jesus says that "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart." Jesus also says that I am to forgive my brother "not seven times, but seventy-seven times". The number is not the issue, Jesus is saying that we should always forgive. 

I believe that all of this ultimately goes back to trusting the heart of God in any and all situations, rather than the heart of man. I am to love man and love others but I am not to depend on them and believe in them the way that I believe and trust in God. We are sinners and we will let each other down in small and big ways. It's absolutely guaranteed. That is why it's imperative that the source of my hope and identity is found in God and never another human. 

This is hard because bad things happen and God allows them. God still asks us to trust him in spite of all the sin and evil in the world. He asks us to trust him even when we are not guaranteed an easy or "positive" outcome. He asks us to trust him even when doing so guarantees that another human will deceive us, harm us and manipulate us. But that is why I trust God all the more...the Bible hides nothing, it doesn't make excuses for some of the hard realities. It doesn't make empty promises. It gives us the cold, hard truth and asks us to follow, trust, love and sacrifice. This is tough but there is a goodness in it that is hard to describe or define. It is what gives me the courage to follow and believe regardless of the messiness. 

33“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

JOHN 16:33

JANUARY 25, 2025

  “Only when our greatest love is God, a love that we cannot lose even in death, can we face all things with peace.” 

― Timothy J. Keller, Walking with God through Pain and Suffering

EXODUS 9-10

10So they took soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air, and festering boils broke out on people and animals. 11The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils that were on them and on all the Egyptians. 12But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had said to Moses.(9:10-12)

MATTHEW 18:1-20

10“See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven. [11]^a

12“What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? 13And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. 14In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

JOURNAL 

Life is precious and fragile, we all are one moment away from the grave.  There are things in this world that are avoidable and things in this world that are not. Yes I should do my best to ensure I take care of my life and the body God gives me...but the ultimate reality is that its temporary and ultimately it's destiny is the grave. 

This brings up the issue of Pharaoh...The verses about Pharaoh have always troubled me, because it seems that Pharaoh doesn't have a choice. Over and over it says that God "hardened" Pharoah's heart. Doing some research on the subject I found that the problem is in the translation. Since it is in the past tense the wording is indicating that God allowed his heart to be hardened. God allowed Pharaoh to be stubborn. Just as God allows me to be stubborn and disobedient. 

God's heart is shown in Matthew when Jesus declares that God does not desire that any child should perish. It's God's desire for all to be reconciled yet he still allows us to choose. He gives us the means and the path to relationship with him, yet he does not force our hand. It is the same with my boys...who are now men. I desire their love and relationship but I cannot force that. I can create situations and cause consequences etc...but whether they choose to love me or not is in their own heart and mind. 

While that is a crude comparison...it's really the only one that I can even begin to wrap my head around. I also have to come to accept that God is not my personal servant...here to serve my dreams and my desires. Yet I often find that that's how my thinking tends to go...I get frustrated when things don't make sense and don't work out the way that seems best to me. But again who am I to make that declaration? If even Jesus refused to go there what authority do I have to make such demands???

So what I am left with is the fragile, ignorant, confines of my own mind and heart. While they are amazing and powerful they are flawed and ultimately permitted by God to exist. To think otherwise is to step outside of reality. This is sobering and confusing but ironically it's acceptance promises to bring peace and joy. And as I allow my fingers to loosen their grip on the future, I do strangely find that there is a peace and a joy in just living today...this hour, this moment. 

6Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm:

7“Brace yourself like a man;

I will question you,

and you shall answer me.

8“Would you discredit my justice?

Would you condemn me to justify yourself?

9Do you have an arm like God’s,

and can your voice thunder like his?

10Then adorn yourself with glory and splendor,

and clothe yourself in honor and majesty.

11Unleash the fury of your wrath,

look at all who are proud and bring them low,

12look at all who are proud and humble them,

crush the wicked where they stand.

13Bury them all in the dust together;

shroud their faces in the grave.

14Then I myself will admit to you

that your own right hand can save you.

JOB 40:6-14

JANUARY 24, 2025

 "I found my combine shirt from 17 years ago and it got me thinking...This is what they said about me then....Poor build. Skinny. Lacks great physical stature and strength. Lacks mobility and ability to avoid the rush. Lacks a really strong arm. Can't drive the ball downfield. Does not throw a really tight spiral. System-type player who can get exposed if forced to ad lib. Gets knocked down easily. As @edelman11 always reminds me... "You can prove em right or you can prove em wrong".

― Tom Brady

EXODUS 7-8

1Then the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. 2You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. 3But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, 4he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. 5And the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”

6Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them. 7Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.(7:1-7)

MATTHEW 17

18Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment.

19Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

20He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” [21]^a

JOURNAL 

I really don't know what I would do without the Bible. The stories have become life rafts in some of the darkest times of my life. Now with my boys,  I am able to share with them and encourage them through the power of these ancient texts. Moses, like Joseph is one that I cherish. Unlike Joseph Moses was actually raised a prince of Egypt. There are actual historical records that record his skill and leadership in military engagements. Then he has a fall from grace after killing an Egyptian in defense of a Hebrew slave. He goes on the run and becomes a nomadic wandering shepherd for the next 40 years. To say that Moses was an unlikely hero is the understatement of all understatements. 

Yet this is the miraculous nature of God. Some of his best work is done by the rejected, the losers, the outcasts. To really consider what happens with Moses is just so contrary to human logic...God calls Moses...the outcast, the shamed, the outlaw to rescue his people. Why?  Because God confounds the wisdom of humanity with grace and love. 

He gives hope to those that the world says aren't good enough. He works through the tongues of those the world says are filthy and shameful. He confounds the powerful with those that are weak and powerless. And that is the point...God will not be usurped by our judgements and our standards. He operates off a different script and one that we most often would never approve. 

That is the beauty of scripture...because at some point in every human life...there will come a time when it seems the world is set against you. When that happens it can feel like a death sentence, it can seem that the end is inevitable. Yet that is the fertile soil that can spur a revolution and a comeback that helps us to rethink our own potential and embrace our own unique stories. 

33“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

JOHN 16:33