There are those times in life when we lose. But there are also those times in life when we think we are losing and we aren’t. Sometimes life is kicking us in the shins and when we fall to the ground in pain we get kicked in the head as well. In our family, we … More When You Think You are Losing
The Journey Into and Out of Sorrow I find myself sighing. A lot. There are triggers that I don’t completely understand. Driving, and the conversation will be in a lull and I will sigh. The color of a rock—a sigh. A childhood memory—a sigh—a song on a classic rock radio station, the name of my … More The Journey into and out of Sorrow
The platitudes of wisdom are like a hot knife of hate in an ill-timed moment. “Timing is everything.” Certainly, that is part of what Solomon means in the second line of his couplet in Ecclesiastes 3:7: “A time to be silent and a time to speak.” Job’s friends are stunned into silence by the magnitude … More The Harrowing Withering of Suffering and Loss
The idea in this periodic series is to write a poem of personal reflection for each Psalm in the Psalter. This is the offering for Psalm 116. Don’t think of any as high art. Think of these offerings as one poor man’s desire to draw nearer to Christ. New entries will generally appear on Sunday … More The Importance of Pain to Worship
I was reminded of this sculpture as I thought about all the subtractions and deletions and upheaval of the last few months. (7-22-2020, and again on 9-8-2023) The artist’s name is Albert Gyorgy. He is Romanian, lives in Switzerland and is semi-reclusive, or at least, it is very difficult to get much information on him. … More Sorrow and Loss
Friday Musings Psalm 102:1–7, 12-14, 18-19 (ESV) A prayer of one afflicted, when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the Lord. 1 Hear my prayer, O Lord; . let my cry come to you! 2 Do not hide your face from me . in the day of my distress! . Incline your ear … More When Pain is the Avenue to Beauty
Reading with the Pastor Psalm 41, Mark 13, and Job 10 Job, the man of God, minus his family, minus his wealth, minus his health, minus the friends he thought he had is in the throes of depression. “I loathe my life; I will give free utterance to my complaint; I will speak in the bitterness of … More “I Loathe My Life.”
Reading with the PastorRead Matthew 25 and Psalm 30 Startling fact: Every 1/40th of a second, the retina of your eye can transmit a new image consisting of more than 100 million bits of information. God did that! We serve a powerful and creative God. We serve a powerful and creative God. His designs are awe-inspiring. His … More This Post is Not about Eyes
Thursday is for Spiritual Formation On September 12, 2012, Pastor Ray Ortlund, under the title You’re Not Crazy, posted the following open letter to pastors on the Gospel Coalition website. I’ve changed the title and added a postscript. My brother pastor, It’s Monday morning. Yesterday you gave your all. You’re spent. You’re depressed. You’re drinking … More You’re Not Crazy, Just a Wee Bit Depressed
Tuesday is for Prayer Read Psalm 39 We only slow down when we hurt. The rest of the time, we run around like we know what we are doing and stay just ahead of the puppy barking at our heals calling us to stop and pet him. He won’t bite. He wants to play. God is … More “Surely Every Man is a Mere Breath”
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