(This is the presentation I made a few days ago to the Mental Health Association of Middle Tennessee. The topic was Healing A Diverse Community. The people before me spoke about racial inequality in Middle Tennessee and the conflict over building a new mosque.) HEALING A DIVERSE COMMUNITY My grandson is 4. His… Continue Reading
The Ministry of Presence
“More and more, the desire grows in me simply to walk around, greet people, enter their homes, sit on their doorsteps, play ball, throw water, and be known as someone who wants to live with them. It is a privilege to have the time to practice this simple ministry of presence. Still, it is not… Continue Reading
Holding On, Letting Go
It is one of the great challenges of life, how long do I hold on and when do I let go? A few years ago we were fishing and swimming and just chillin’ at the little lake on my sisters farm. The kids, including my two sons were swinging on an old rope swing and… Continue Reading
She’s There Now
Got this text conversation from my son, Josh with his 4 year old son, Jon-Mical last Tuesday, the evening my mother died. I told Jon-Mical that Nanny died. He immediately asked if she was flying now. “Flying?” I asked. “Yes. Is she flying up to heaven?” he responded. I told him she was. He… Continue Reading
God Far Away
I need God and He is far away. That desolate, desperate cry is not some philosophical, poetic metaphor from ancient literature or the pitiful plea of the fundamentally fearful. It is my testimony for right now. The words from my lips. The echo of my heart. It is the true, simple, unadorned and undeniable condition… Continue Reading
Jesus in Aurora
My youngest grandson Jakson is goofy cute. Jakson is 1. He has too many teeth for his little mouth. His hair is so blonde that you can see through it. And his head (to accommodate that powerful brain of his, I’m sure) is three sizes too big for his body. It looks like… Continue Reading
Dancing The Soul Salsa
I grew up in a home that did not dance. Just the mere mention of the word was anathema. My mother called it foot fellowship. She taught us that dancing was the root of all evil and was the portal through which every other vice imaginable entered. “Don’t ever dance,” she said. “All of that… Continue Reading
Running Through the Yukky Stuff
It’s been a rough few weeks. Mom had surgery a couple of weeks ago. Everything went downhill and she had surgery again. Lots of pain and near misses, frustrations and fears, she has been poked and prodded and kept asleep while we battled to keep her heart rate up, her blood pressure down, and her… Continue Reading
Variety
Jesus is pushing His way through the crowd and a women who has suffered with bleeding her entire life touches the hem of His cloak and is healed. A young boy that was beset by demons was brought to Jesus and fell on the ground convulsing in front of Him. Jesus reached down and took… Continue Reading
The Spirit Principles
The Spirit Principles (I was thinking the other day I never posted the 6th blog in The Abundant Life series. Sorry about that. Here’s the last one.) Lawrence J Peter, author of the famous and now forgotten business textbook called The Peter Principle said this, “In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his… Continue Reading