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God punishes, God instructs, God gives hope
These words from Scripture are familiar and comforting:
“For I know the thoughts that I think about you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
This morning, reading in Jeremiah 29, I came across those words (v. 11). It kind of sends a warm feeling through your soul when you encounter a beautiful text in its setting. I’m not good at remembering…
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Do we really want to be 'healed'?
Jesus once asked a sick man, “Do you want to be made well?”
Great question. The man was obviously sick. The question was, did he want to be well.
Most of us know we are sin sick; we are flawed. The big question is the same for us. Do we want to be healed?
Sometimes we obviously answer, “no.” We kind of like our sinful ways. It’s kind of beneficial being selfish, being difficult with difficult…
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Albom's Magic Strings connects
Tonight, I finished reading the novel, The Magic Strings of Frankie Presto, by Mitch Albom. Wow!
I had never heard of this book until my daughter, Tabitha, brought it home from a used book store. How come? I’ve read many highly touted books that were trash. This book touched my soul, and I am not a musician at all.
Tabitha said this description on the inside flap sold her: “With its Forrest…
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Traveling is little fun, but arriving is nice
I am experiencing again a feeling I have encountered many times over the years. I never want to travel. I generally do not like the traveling. But once I am someplace and comfortable and able to read, I’m just as content as I am at home.
This time it’s in Panguitch, Utah. It’s a pretty slow-paced town of about 1,800 that thrives because people love to visit the natural parks nearby. And those…
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Religious fundamentalism hangs by a thin thread
It occurs to me this morning that religious fundamentalism hangs by a very thin thread. That’s why it’s guarded so assiduously. The thread is that every word of an ancient and powerful book is, in fact, the very word of God for all time.
Since most people don’t actually read those books they don’t realize that they already have decided certain of those words no longer apply, but they accept the…
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The ineffable comes to mind
ineffable
That’s a word that’s sticking in my mind this morning. I started the day reading in the Gospel of John, then went to Schweitzer’s Quest of the Historical Jesus, then to some C.S. Lewis. I didn’t read the word “ineffable” in any of those places, but it popped into my brain and seemed to sum up much.
Enter the American Heritage Dictionary:
ineffable
adjective
1. Incapable of being…
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Simple gifts can give years of joy
Today, going through some storage boxes, Tabitha found a treasure. Given to me years ago by Janet Craynon, this magnetic wonder entertained me during countless phone calls and thoughtful moments. It also held a great fascination with my children when they visited my office. Thank you, Janet, for a great gift that will not be re-gifted until my days are over.
When I shared that little note on…
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'Mom' shows up for Mother's Day
Yesterday was the first Mother’s Day since my mother’s passing in January. I thought about her often. She lingers close in my memories.
After her death, two cardinals began to show up regularly at our house. We named them Gene and Hilda after my mom and dad. Yesterday, Tabitha was awakened by Hilda’s little clicking noise. It was as if Mom was saying to Tab, with whom she had such a close…
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Matt Haig releases words to help us all
I first read two of his novels — The Midnight Library and How to Stop Time. Excellent! The author: Matt Haig.
Now I am reading a second of his non-fiction books — Reasons to Stay Alive came first and now The Comfort Book. Amazing!
Haig has dealt with serious depression, and Reasons deals with that battle and should be read by anyone who struggles with depression and by those who know someone…
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We need others to help us see ourselves
This is who I am.
So, what is the “this”? It’s many things, I guess.
Most people know me by what I look like, by what they see. A very few people know me from lots of conversations about things that are important to us. And there are varied depths of knowing me between mere sight and deep knowledge.
But there is only one person who really knows me; it’s me. Maybe.
Each of us is the only…
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I’m a flâneur.
The Cambridge Dictionary says a flâneur is “someone who walks around not doing anything in particular but watching people and society.
A story in The New York Times talks about doing this when traveling. I did it in London in 2015.
Alone on my second visit to one my favorite cities, I had a free afternoon and evening. I just started walking, with no particular place to go. I…
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Want to flourish? Follow, Believe, Abide, Love
I’m thinking of verbs this morning. Not just any verbs but verbs that are key to expressing what we need for a healthy, thriving, flourishing life with God in Christ.
Follow
A key word Jesus used. The first verb of discipleship.
Believe
The Gospel of John used this a lot. The mind is important. And believing is different from knowing.
Abide
It’s how we continue. We cannot abide until we…
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Christian journalism important for congregation-led organizations
Shared with Your friends and friends of anyone tagged
I just found something I wrote in the Illinois Baptist newspaper at the end of 1998. Reading this, you will understand part of the reason I resigned four months later — not the only reason.
Many people left the Illinois Baptist convention before and after me. Wow! There were some great people in that exodus and also some great ones who…
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Praying the words of Jesus is an exercise in humility, worship, & love
It’s been said that we are each to be a little Jesus—to function as Christ’s presence to those we encounter. When we say this we do not mean that we are special as if we are the “only begotten son” of John 3:16. We are trying to convey that we are children of God. To be a little Jesus to others is not sacrilegious; it’s being faithful.
People have also suggested praying Scripture, which is a…
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Sometimes, the birds are quiet
Tabitha noted this morning that the birds were not singing. The past two mornings they have been chirping up a storm. Today, mostly silent.
My unscientific speculation: It rained last night so the birds didn’t get much sleep.
I don’t even know if birds sleep or if rain, coupled with thunder and lightening, interrupts it. It’s a theory based on no evidence other than human experience that while…
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Interesting people make for interesting conversation
Over breakfast this morning we discussed the following:
Albert Schweitzer
Polymath
Gamut (word of the day)
Welch’s Natural Strawberry Spread (lower sugar)
Before breakfast:
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Sortedness
Elephant figurines
Owl figurines
Golden Book Encyclopedias
Weeds
Life is so interesting when you live with interesting people.
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I listen to music mostly in a way that was newfangled a few years ago but is now old-fangled. I don’t use a streaming service; I listen to the music I own in iTunes. I try the streaming, but I don’t like it. I have trouble deciding what to listen to when the choices are almost infinite.
I often have the songs sorted by the number of times I’ve played them. It helps me listen to ones I haven’t…
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