A sojourn is a relatively short period of time when a person stays somewhere other than home. It’s a temporary stay or visit that’s usually associated with a specific purpose. During a sojourn, people are outside of their natural environment. They adjust to their new place of residence to some degree, but it never becomes [...]
Category: faith
The Essence of Prayer
At a recent prayer seminar I asked the question: “How many of you would say you’re fully satisfied with your prayer life?” Women of all ages and spiritual maturity were in attendance and not surprisingly, no one raised their hand. We discussed some of the things that interfere with our ability to connect consistently and [...]
Hitting the Sweet Spot
If you play tennis, racquetball, squash, baseball, cricket or golf, you know about the “sweet spot.” It’s the location at which the object being struck (usually a ball) absorbs the maximum amount of the available forward momentum and rebounds away from the racket, bat, or club with a greater velocity than if struck in other [...]
Chickens and Eggs
For centuries, the classic question about causality has been Which Came First … the Chicken or the Egg? Dilemmas like these arise when we can’t discern which of two events should be considered the cause and which considered the effect. When we try to figure it out through human reasoning we often get it wrong. [...]
Our Refuge and Strength
David and his mighty men couldn’t seem to catch a break. After being ousted from the Philistine army because some of the commanders mistrusted them, they came to Ziklag to discover the Amalekites had burned the city and taken all their wives and children captive. David and his men were so distressed, they “wept aloud [...]
God is Writing Your Story!
Every story worth telling begins with an “inciting incident” … something that upsets the balance in a person’s life and drives them forward in an unpredictable and sometimes scary direction. As they react to the incident—trying to restore balance and regain control—their lives are forever altered. Their decisions and subsequent actions either help or hinder [...]
Wise as Serpents, Harmless as Doves
In this day of increasing persecution towards Christians worldwide, it’s important to know how to fight our adversaries in the right spirit. In Matthew 10 Jesus sends out His followers to share the Gospel with their fellow Israelites. He makes it clear what they are to do in His name—proclaim that the kingdom of heaven [...]
Hills to Die On??
Part One: August 2022 We’ve all heard the saying, usually expressed as a question: “Is this a hill to die on?” Here’s the definition of this phrase I like best: “An issue to pursue with wholehearted conviction and/or single-minded focus, with little or no regard to the cost.” Often, we use it in a military [...]
The Coming of God
As I walk around my neighborhood, I see few signs of Jesus. The blowup figures in people’s yards are mostly Santa Claus and Will Ferrell’s Elf, with an occasional reindeer thrown in. I see few manger scenes, which were common when I was growing up. I know it’s still early, but I don’t expect much [...]
Long Haulers
My son Sky has always liked machines and big challenges. One vivid memory I have is of him driving our tractor across the field as Tony and I threw bales onto the hay wagon. Sky was only six or seven years old, so his feet barely reached the pedals. But he was grinning from ear [...]