Why have many of us bought the lie that life is supposed to be easy? Maybe it's tempting to believe all the shiny, happy people in the TV commercials. But no. Life is a... Battle. In this country, 1 in 4 are "very stressed" at work. 1 in 8 families struggle to put food on … Continue reading Your soldiers for the battle
friends
Trust in the jungle of unpredictability
Life can be chaotic. And volatile. And hard. That’s why friendship is so important. Christian ethicist Lewis Smedes wrote an article about the power of making a promise. He says that when you make a promise to someone, “You have created a small sanctuary of trust within the jungle of unpredictability.” I think that’s great … Continue reading Trust in the jungle of unpredictability
The benefit of quality down time
In Matthew 8:23-25 we read: “Then [Jesus] got into the boat and his disciples followed him. Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” Yup. A storm threatened … Continue reading The benefit of quality down time
Withness
Life can be difficult. The only person who hasn’t experienced some kind of hardship is the person who hasn’t been born yet! Think of Jesus on the cross. He was the only perfect person who ever lived… and even he suffered greatly! None of us are given a free pass in life, but God offers … Continue reading Withness
Do we REALLY want community and friendship?
There are popular buzzwords that tell us what people value. A few examples are ‘environmental sustainability,’ ‘transparency,’ ‘wellness,’ or ‘balance.’ Two more biggies are ‘community’ and ‘friendship.’ It’s easy to SAY we want these things, but not fully realize what we’re asking for. The truth is that real community and friendship are often messy. It … Continue reading Do we REALLY want community and friendship?
The power of “God be with you”
The presence and power of God are always around us—sometimes we just need the reminder. Let me give an example. Many of us say “goodbye” to someone when we part. A few years ago I learned that “goodbye” is from an old word “godbwye.” It’s a short form of “God be with you.” People used … Continue reading The power of “God be with you”
Gooder
None of us can deny that friendships have a huge impact on us. Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.” How many of us can think of a time when a good friend … Continue reading Gooder
Want to be steady for someone? Don’t be zig-zaggy
For the better part of a week I’ve been touching on the idea of being a person of your word. I’ve talked about keeping track of your promises, keeping your promises, what to do when you haven’t kept your word, and how your reliability can be someone else’s stability. Let me share another idea that … Continue reading Want to be steady for someone? Don’t be zig-zaggy
Wounds from a friend
Proverbs 27:6 says: “Wounds from a friend can be trusted…” But what in the world does that mean? It means that true friends are in a unique position of trust in our lives. They care about us (and we care about them). Because of that, they can be honest. Although we tend to like honesty, … Continue reading Wounds from a friend
Make time for fun
Having fun is fun. But do you know what? Some people probably don’t do fun things as much as they should. Or, when they do something fun, they feel bad about it. Why? Because they know about people who are struggling, and feel bad or guilty that they’re out having a good time anyway. But … Continue reading Make time for fun
