Category: Christian Living
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Helping Dan feel human
“Can you help me with my bike? My wrist is broken!” I barely heard the question. But speaking over This American Life was the voice of a man on the platform struggling to get his bicycle up the stairs and onto the trolley. With my bike pinning me against the retractable wheelchair lift on the ancient,…
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Your Ministry of Discouragement
Having just spent a week with Christian leaders I came home with a raw heart. Surely, I came home tired. But I also came home perplexed by our unique ability to discourage one another. Speaker shoes When I went to my first convention in 2002– the whole thing was weird for me. It all seemed…
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Just Make it to Harbor
Imagine how good this guy felt when he got the boat into harbor? What a metaphor for life! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve felt like this. Life is ugly sometimes. And just pulling into safe harbor is exhilarating.
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Sabbath Breakers
“Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any…
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I’m a walking contradiction
My life in a Bible verse: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who…
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How to Be Alone
This was beautiful. I’m thankful I found it. I’m an introvert caught in an extroverts life. Fortunately, I’m married to a fellow introvert. And we dream about simple things… like taking vacations places where we can walk in silence and be alone. Where we are free to explore and discover. And where we take the…
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3 Reasons to Embrace Halloween
3 reasons why I think every Christian should embrace Halloween as a cultural phenomenon beyond personal convictions that you are endorsing evil. Don’t punish your kids for your convictions. We don’t let our kids dress up as demons or witches… but we do allow them to wear costumes because it’s fun. But to keep them at…
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You’ve Got to Want It
Ministry isn’t family friendly. I know people in youth ministry from the “biggest and best churches” in America. And I know people in youth ministry in the tiniest churches in America. And both people have the same complaints and struggles– ministry life sucks for family life. My response to that? So what? Cope and deal.…
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The Bible, Made Personal
Perhaps my greatest period of rapid growth in my relationship with Jesus came when I was just 17 years old. Each day I worked verse by verse through the pastoral epistles. I journaled questions like, “What is Paul saying?” “Who was this written to?” and “What is God saying to me through Paul?” One habit…
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The Power of Calling
Yesterday, I spent some time thinking about the calling of Abraham and Moses. (Genesis 15; Exodus 3) I was comparing the discomfort those men went through as a result of their calling to a community and the relative ease with which I question my calling to the community I live in and the work God…