This beautiful photograph shot in the early morning as the fog was cloaking the corn made me think as I took the shot, "I wonder what God has in store today?" When the morning starts as beautifully as this, how can you not wonder what blessings will be abounding? At the same time, being a veteran of the human experience, I also recounted those who would be facing the biggest crisis in their lives, medically, physically, even spiritually! I paused to take in the beauty, and remember all in prayer that God would right the wrongs and ease the pain... Continue reading

I approached this latest book from author Max Lucado with a bit of interest as it seems to lift up some hope for what some might call "authentic" Christianity and some tips as to how this might be accomplished. I was pleasantly surprised that the book takes the reader on a journey of several of what I will call "facets" of one's life and takes a clear look at each. Lucado does a simply brilliant job describing each facet and then how one's understanding and take on each one of those facets can be taken to the "next" level. Amazing!... Continue reading

Put this ice cream sundae in front of just about anybody and you'll see their face light up with anticipation and maybe even a little joy! Joy is an emotion that Christians seem to fall short of in their day to day existence, and the reason I raise the thought is that somehow, in all of life, a Christian ought to be able to experience joy in their lives. Others ought to be able to experience it as well, for what I know of joy, it is only real when it is contagious. It is something that fully engages the... Continue reading

Yet another in a long line of books on how to be a better sales person, or so I thought. Christopher Cunningham takes a great story line, the gift of his grandfather's old field manual used for the armed services, and plays off of the concepts found in that guide to develop his own manual on success in sales as a Christian. It is important to note from other literature on sales motivation that changing the insides of the salesperson is often the most difficult thing to do. Having spent a stint in sales myself, you find moments that you... Continue reading

Far away from the steel and concrete of our cities of the world lies a beach with sand upon it. This picture I snapped at the northern portions of South Padre Island in the great state of Texas has amazed me at the intricacy of detail and how the wind has combined and sculpted this ever-changing array of beauty, for anyone who goes looking for it. I know I've blogged about this before, but somehow I'm drawn back today. God's creative hand is all over my life, and I think the same holds true for us all. It is more... Continue reading

One of life's most interesting places to meet people is in the "Ditch". To give it geographic co-ordinates, it would describe that area on either side of a highway. As a former Firefighter/EMT whose Department responsibility included a stretch of a busy Illinois interstate highway, I had the privilege of meeting many people in various stages of distress, but all, to a person, were in the Ditch. As reports were filed, the common question of "What happened?" almost always led to a statement of mis-belief. It would go something like this- if I could combine them all into one thought-... Continue reading

Obedient. What images are conjured up when we think about that word? Maybe some soldiers carrying out orders? Stopping at the side of the road when the police flashers are behind your car? I hope this doesn’t reveal anything psychological about me when I admit to it, but when I hear the word, I think of a child doing things as they are told. I don’t see it as coercion or anything like that. I see a trusting relationship where the child participates. It is equally interesting that at he same time-I’m thinking of a child being obedient, I can... Continue reading

A quick read of John chapter 8 finds Jesus in a verbal wrestling match with those who gathered around him, the Jewish leadership as well as his disciples. He goes in length to debate and almost pick a fight about who knows what when it comes to the tradition of the faith. It gets ugly- Jesus calls out those gathered in v. 46-47 NIV “And since I am telling you the truth, why don’t you believe me? Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God. But you don’t listen because you don’t belong to God.” Wow!... Continue reading

You don’t have to be heavily into politics to enjoy R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr’s latest work After the Hangover. His book, written from the conservative slant on politics chronicles the 2008 crash and brun that the conservative movement fell into as a result of the desire of the electorate to transition away from the traditional conservative approach to doing politics. It is a compelling read that draws you into the “behind the scenes” actions of how this all has taken place, and it provides many insights as to what might be ahead as we see the political cycles play out.... Continue reading

One of the best if not the best show in the ratings is ABC's Dancing with the Stars which takes celebrities and pairs them with a professional dancer and throughout the season they learn all of what I assume are the major ballroom dances. It is quite painful at times to watch, as those early in the season who need to be eliminated give painful examples of dance. Now trust me, I am not in a position to judge, as I am not the one out there learning the steps and putting in the time. It just strikes me what... Continue reading

I took this picture in Orlando a few years back and it recently popped up on a screen saver to remind me why I took this in the first place. It's my humble opinion that the world presents us with a story line that we begin to fall for, even believe, when we think we all have to be the same. Our "sameness" lowers the expectation that we might have for life, making things a bit blander in our life. There is a dumbing down that occurs when we all jump on the bandwagon in order to be like one... Continue reading

This morning I received an interesting blog from ARE which bemoans the fact that there is something terribly wrong. It seems there is an epidemic of what I’ll call hopelessness that is sweeping the church these days. It appears that many, including yours truly, at times miss what I am going to call the tides of life. Twice a day the oceans shift according to lunar cycles and the grace of science to bring in the tide, and then to have it recede. That means four times a day things change. Life brings with it a cyclic nature, and we... Continue reading

George Barna in a recent survey newsletter suggests that millions of unchurched adults are Christians hurt by Churches but can be healed of the pain. Wow, what a mouthful. It appears that most of the folks in this particular survey indicate that they are “believers” according to the definitions laid out in the report, but something had happened that now keeps them away. It appears that whatever trauma which leads them to avoid church wins the day as far as the discussion goes. It leads me to some questions that might serve as some food for thought. Is it a... Continue reading

This American flag flies quietly and proudly over the gravesite of President Herbert Hoover and his good wife Lou in West Branch Iowa. The Presidential Library there is a fascinating view of a man whose quiet Quaker heart was bent on serving others, feeding the world's hungry, all while taking tremendous heat for the rest of the woes of the world. He lies in state in graves which overlook an area close to his place of birth. He died. We pay our respects for the good work that he and Lou did on behalf od our country. Little wonder when... Continue reading

A Century Turns: New Hopes, New Fears by William J Bennett is an outstanding piece of recent history that comes together to remind the reader of the import of the last two decades. In a superbly written narrative, Bennett lists the events of the last two decades from his own unique position within that history, having worked with Presidents Reagan and Bush in their administrations. His mildly anecdotal style of writing shares his unique insights as to the broader scope of the events that took place in this most interesting time of history. Bennett lists the events of history in... Continue reading

In this season of Lent, I can only begin to wonder what the real-time moments of the Jesus journey must have been all about. Picture in your minds eye all of the things the disciples had been put through! In the course of about 40 months, they were called away from friends, family, jobs, and everything they held near and dear to now follow their new master. Each day must have been an amazing journey. Each moment, I cannot help but think they must have asked the following- “Good Lord! What is next?” You and I have a hard time... Continue reading

Our rudimentary sand art from this past summer on the warm gulf shore on Marco Island in Florida brings to my mind how our walk of faith is conditioned by the effects of those people and events that are around us and how little or great their influence upon you impacts you. I give God thanks daily that we are created in a framework of family, with individual components from within and supplemental friendships from outside of those relationships. All of these people, events, and relationships that we encounter shape us for what we might become. And our task is... Continue reading

Today I am stepping across the line. I’m tired of waffling and I’m finished with wavering. I’ve made my choice; the verdict is in and my decision is irrevocable. I’m going God’s way. There is no turning back. I will live the rest of my life serving God’s purposes, with God’s people, on God’s planet, for God’s glory. I will use my life to celebrate his presence, cultivate his character, participate in his family, demonstrate his love, and communicate his Word. Since my past has been forgiven, and I have a purpose for living and a home waiting in heaven,... Continue reading

One of the great takeaways I had from last week's Radicalis webcast was when Rick Warren shared the story about the tree which graces his book, The Purpose Driven Life. It drew me to the text in Jeremiah which illustrates Pastor Warren's whole point. When we are rooted (that is to say deep rooted, near the source of what we need to survive) the tree thrives. When the tree has deep roots, it can produce great fruits. This tree in Texas obviously has the roots! Yet when it comes to living lives of faith, how many people think they can... Continue reading

These days as the world watches the Olympic Games, one cannot help but think the athletes that are competing have been given the best of their country’s training, with the best coaching, proper foods, and the appropriate training to equip them for the best possible performance of the sport they love. Take that holistic approach to training, apply it to living life as a man, provide inspirational stories to back up the training points-put all these together and it begins to summarize what Living Life in the Zone is all about. This 40-day spiritual planner aimed at the male of... Continue reading

Dawn Michele (Fireflight) and Mac Powell (Third Day) add the final touches to a wonderful duet during the awesome WInterJam 2010 at the Des Moines Veterans Auditorium this past weekend. Apart from being some of the brightest and best groups in modern Christian music today, what you see pictured is a bit of fusion of what has been around for some time, and some new, hard driving rock. Both groups fall well into my comfort zone of hard driving rock, and they do it well. What is not apparent to the untrained eye is the power of the Holy Spirit... Continue reading

Just about everyone has heard Dr. Charles F Stanley preach on television and you know the depths of insight and knowledge he brings to his sermon preparation. It is the same high quality scriptural base that I found most intriguing as I got the chance to review this book. I thought it might be of the same genre as many "help" books when it came to spirituality, but this is something much better. Most authors toss together lists of this or that and once they have enough lists they call it a chapter, and then add all those chapters into... Continue reading

Countless dollars have been spent in the production of wonderful graphics in the movies of today. State of the art computer generated imaging is what drives the production of all of our modern cinematography these days. Spend a couple of hours in a dark theater and be delighted in what you get to see. No money changes hands when the morning fog freezes to the trees in the Iowa countryside. Creation art takes over, and there is no lack of beauty that surrounds us as the sun beams through the ice crystals and the frozen fog droplets on the trees.... Continue reading

The Gospel from the second Sunday of Christmas hammered me this morning as I was trying to preach on it. As I was describing the personal relationship that John was describing in his text from chapter one of the Gospel of John, it dawned on me how many times we reject the Lord in our lives. Lives that are artificially too busy, lives lived with strange priorities, lives filled with everything else but what they ought to be filled with. We long for and seek out the face of Jesus but fail to seek what that face represents. It might... Continue reading