Gaining a heart of wisdom
Sunday Scripture The ticking of our truck's hazard lights beat a cadence only a little faster than my pulse as we waited for roadside assistance. A blown tire on the mowing trailer (and a useless jack in the truck) had sidelined our plans for a productive Friday afternoon on the mowers, and I could see… Continue reading Is it Time for You to Take a Dependency Inventory?
Sunday Scripture Criticism is hard to hear. Even if it is well-intentioned and comes from someone who is qualified to critique my work, it has taken a long time for me to learn that criticism is more helpful to me than praise, because it will, ultimately, result in improvement and growth--if I receive the criticism… Continue reading Jesus Always Has Something to Say to You About Your Life
Sunday Scripture Captain Zsakhiem James has served on the police department in Camden, New Jersey for twenty-eight years. He laments the poor judgment and use of force that resulted in the death of George Floyd, and in an interview with World Magazine, he shared that "Camden's use of force policy has as its foundation 'sanctity… Continue reading What You Leave Out Is Just As Important As What You Put In
Sunday Scripture It's a short journey from regret to blame, from sorrow to anger, from sadness to bitterness. Defying the pull toward bitterness seems to be one of the tasks of mid-life and beyond, but the movement toward peace and contentment, while challenging, is also life-saving. The prophet Isaiah was gifted with staggering insight to… Continue reading God Will Always Get It Right
Sunday Scripture God is the ocean, and we keep writing about a cup of water."Charlie Peacock, musician and producer One cannot be too careful about one's reading material, especially at thirty thousand feet where confined airplane space and a four hour flight leave plenty of room for pondering a powerful metaphor. "God is the ocean,… Continue reading Will You Play It Safe–or Will You Take on the Ocean?
Sunday Scripture For me, Round One was not such that I would have predicted a mushy Father’s Day blog post in my future. (Who would have ever predicted blogs, anyway?) My experience with this Hallmark holiday was aptly described by author, Leslie Leyland Fields: Some will turn away from thirty minutes at the card rack empty-handed and sad.”… Continue reading Father’s Day: A New and Better Celebration
Sunday Scripture Patriotic holidays seem to be slipping by me this year. The challenge of distinguishing one day from another only complicates my nose-to-the-grindstone manner of living during this season of recovery from pandemic. In years past, we created red, white, and blue T-shirts with copious globs of fabric paint every Memorial Day and then… Continue reading Working Hard at the Practice of Patriotism
Sunday Scripture Spring is the season of hyperbole. Here in Maine, we live in the grip of winter's clutches long after the calendar makes its equinox announcement--picture a foot of snow the week before Mother's Day! Therefore, when yellow and green begin to show up in earnest, my eyes can't take it in fast enough.… Continue reading Get Used to the Idea of Abundance
Sunday Scripture I logged some fairly intense conversations with God the day the transmission blew in our faithful truck--the one that hauls all the equipment for our lawn mowing business. "Really?" "Now?" "God, are you unaware that grass is beginning to grow here in Mid-Coast Maine?" I'm well aware that God is sovereign even over… Continue reading Holy Indifference to the Loss of All Things
Sunday Scripture The taste of disillusionment is bitter, and few there are who have not experienced it at some point in life, for God often behaves in ways that puzzle us. His infrangible decrees leave us breathless and wondering, and while it's our default to view New Testament characters as cardboard cutouts, it's clear that… Continue reading What Does it Mean to Be Relentless?
Living Our Days 