"Look at the birds." "Consider the lilies." Photo by Richard Sagredo on Unsplash There was a little blue jay lying lifeless on the ground when I went out to feed my chickens this morning. While I could not tell him apart from the other jays that I feed and enjoy watching, I was reminded that my Heavenly Father knew him personally. My dog sniffed him curiously and I was sad. That blue jay had not spent one moment of his life worrying about anything. He probably had not seen death coming. He was pretty much always in the moment. We... Continue reading

You have a limited supply of attention to give and you can only really pay attention to one thing at a time. There will be a focus and everything else will be peripheral. You decide where to focus. You get to choose where you will spend your attention. Things that deserve my attention today: #1 - Being in an honest and transparent relationship with God and with the people in my life. #2 - Making positive change in the world in those areas where I have influence. The second and third are of equal value so, they should be 3a... Continue reading

Extreme Makeover - Life Edition How many bloggers does it take to change a lightbulb? How about life coaches? What?!!! Change?!!! If we don't want change, all change is intimidating. George Carlin said he put some money into one of those change machines and nothing happened. I'd be delighted to find a change machine that actually produced transformation in any number of areas of my life and community. That is the appeal of every great movement in history. Those who embrace it and proclaim it know it to be a message of transformation. The human side of transformation is a... Continue reading

If we do not answer the call to radical love, we are doomed. Continue reading

Mother's Day is a celebration of one truly wonderful human relationship. All human relationships point us to the one vital and life-giving relationship that is necessary for real life, a relationship with God. Continue reading

Coffee and Honey 09/21/2006, 03:35:30 PM Two people taught me lessons in entrepreneurial excellence some years ago. They confirmed and illustrated some truth I already knew. You have to stay on your toes to make a lasting impression. Some folks collect postcards, swag, and other souvenirs when they travel. I do that too, but mostly, I collect memories and ideas. As I was browsing through my files, I found a reflection I had written in 2006 during a trip to Canada. I have blended those words into this final product. They all go together like coffee and honey. When you... Continue reading

Photo by Aikomo Opeyemi on Unsplash Download 1973 Conversation from Today You really do need to take a break from serious thoughts from time to time and laugh at absurdity if you intend to survive with a sound mind. I'm serious. Humor is no laughing matter. Here are some suggestions (from me) for embracing the HUMOR in life: Humility The essence of humor is the ability to laugh at oneself. It is not self-deprecation; it is simply humility and the self-esteem and security necessary to be humble. Understanding It is necessary to have some insight into humanity in order to... Continue reading

Photo by Aikomo Opeyemi on Unsplash Download 1973 Conversation from Today You really do need to take a break from serious thoughts from time to time and laugh at absurdity if you intend to survive with a sound mind. I'm serious. Humor is no laughing matter. Here are some suggestions (from me) for embracing the HUMOR in life: Humility The essence of humor is the ability to laugh at oneself. It is not self-deprecation; it is simply humility and the self-esteem and security necessary to be humble. Understanding It is necessary to have some insight into humanity in order to... Continue reading

Reading Time/Feeding Time Leaders are readers - and listeners. That means that they also spend a lot of money on books and audio and are always looking for ways to save. Tell me I can't read and watch me shrivel up and die. I need fresh material. Many of the great stories and essays have already been written, but many more are being written daily. I crave the old and the new. Principles never change, but challenges do and so do strategies for applying principles. We need to be grounded in the past, present in the present, and alert to... Continue reading

Koenig, Peter. Breakfast on the Beach, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. Original source: https://www.pwkoenig.co.uk/. Worship with the Fellowship of Joy May 1, 2022 Psalm 30 New International Version A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple. Of David. Listen and Read I will exalt you, Lord, for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me. You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead; you... Continue reading

Caravaggio, Michelangelo Merisi da, 1573-1610 Psalm 150 New International Version Praise the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary; praise him in his mighty heavens. Praise him for his acts of power; praise him for his surpassing greatness. Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet, praise him with the harp and lyre, praise him with timbrel and dancing, praise him with the strings and pipe, praise him with the clash of cymbals, praise him with resounding cymbals. Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. New Testament Lesson The apostles were brought in and made to appear... Continue reading

Caitlin Doughty answers the question, "Why JFK's Casket Stayed Closed," and raises questions about how we ritually mourn and do our initial grief work? Continue reading

All is in vain and nothing is in vain. Take your pick by how you respond. Continue reading

Photo by Denny Müller on Unsplash When the grain came to the temple as an offering, a tenth of it was burned on the altar as a memorial offering. The rest was consumed by the priests. This was a song to be sung for the memorial offering. I am confused, I must say, not by the offering and not by the sentiments of the psalm, but by the point of connection. Of these words and emotions, Matthew Henry comments, "Nothing will disquiet the heart of a good man so much as the sense of God's anger. The way to keep... Continue reading

Here is an example: So What? So what if this was not in the earliest versions of Mark we have? Most scholars acknowledge that as a reality. But as an attachment, it made it to the canon and we ask, "Why?" We always ask two questions about scripture: Why? - That alerts us to the message we are intended to receive. So what? - That guides us to the actions we are intended to take. There! That was your hermeneutics lesson for today. Now, the scripture: Mark 16:9-20 NRSV Now after he rose early on the first day of the... Continue reading

Psalm 25 New International Version Of David. In you, Lord my God, I put my trust. I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me. No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame, but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause. Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long. Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are... Continue reading

Tender Love - Reflections on Psalm 103: 1, 13, and 15. Bless the LORD, oh my soul. Like as a father ... Continue reading

He Told You And they remembered his words. -Luke 24:8 Have you ever experienced the exhilaration of everything becoming clear and connected? The disciples did not need new information to understand the resurrection; they needed the illumination that comes when God suddenly turns on the lights in our personal experience of His grace. They needed to reflect upon what they had seen, heard, and experienced in the light of all Jesus has said. In short, they needed to remember in the afterglow of the empty tomb. Before the resurrection, all that Jesus had said and done had consisted of delightful... Continue reading

Photo by Max Kleinen on Unsplash And for days to come. Father, in the light of all that has happened and is happening, in our world I am at loss. I want to say that I am shocked, dismayed, disgusted, indignant, sorrowful, grieving, broken, and horrified. What bothers me most is that I am not, not the way I think is appropriate, not enough to keep me from going about my business or considering my own trivial concerns. Oh, I am all those things, but not to the degree that I was at the first words of so many other... Continue reading

It is good to go to the river and walk alongside it. Continue reading

... by virtue of some underserved, honorific title I had, I was a bit of a VIP! Continue reading

We are in the moment. Every moment has its place, and each moment is a part of a larger moment within eternity. We take them as they come, and we embrace each one for the meaning that they reveal. Continue reading

What about leadership? Photo by Matteo Vistocco on Unsplash It is about serving and laying down our lives for others as Jesus did. It shall not be so among you that you will be in a state of constant competition with your brothers and sisters. It shall not be so among you that you will be vying for positions of importance and prestige and honor. It shall not be so among you though it be so among the many and among the masses. Here is a conversation between Jesus and his disciples in Mark 10: 32 -45, on the road.... Continue reading

What about leadership? Photo by Matteo Vistocco on Unsplash It is about serving and laying down our lives for others as Jesus did. It shall not be so among you that you will be in a state of constant competition with your brothers and sisters. It shall not be so among you that you will be vying for positions of importance and prestige and honor. It shall not be so among you though it be so among the many and among the masses. Here is a conversation between Jesus and his disciples in Mark 10: 32 -45, on the road.... Continue reading

A Picture of Perseverance: Photo by Juanita Swart on Unsplash LISTEN Do Not Lose Heart II Corinthians 4:1-12 NRSV Therefore, since it is by God's mercy that we are engaged in this ministry, we do not lose heart. We have renounced the shameful things that one hides; we refuse to practice cunning or to falsify God's word; but by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves to the conscience of everyone in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this... Continue reading