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18 05, 2018

Really Alive

2018-05-18T11:12:37-05:00May 18th, 2018|All blogs, Inside-Out with Dr. Tom Pace|0 Comments

Our inside-out habits: We pray. We study the Bible. We make friends. We tell our stories. We give ourselves away in generosity and service. A PERSONAL PRAYER Dear God, When I was young, I was so full of passion and enthusiasm, or at least that is how I remember it. I wanted to do everything there is to do. You remember how I was, God. Climb every mountain, ford every stream, follow every rainbow, yada yada yada. Somewhere along the way, then, I lost some of that fire in the belly. Did I just get tired? Did everyday [...]

11 05, 2018

Loving Like Mom

2018-05-11T09:56:16-05:00May 11th, 2018|All blogs, Inside-Out with Dr. Tom Pace|0 Comments

Dear God, Thank you for the moms in my life.  Thank you for my mother, who was a working parent with significant responsibilities, but who gave herself to loving me and others. Thank you for her decision to begin a program for speech therapy at our home when I was small, so she could be with me. Thank you that she dragged me with her to camps and schools as she worked as a speech therapist, so that I might interact with all sorts of folks. Thank you for her decision to become a mother to my cousins when my [...]

4 05, 2018

Why Don’t I Fit In?

2018-05-04T08:51:29-05:00May 4th, 2018|All blogs, Inside-Out with Dr. Tom Pace|0 Comments

Our inside-out habits: We pray. We study the Bible. We make friends. We tell our stories. We give ourselves away in generosity and service. Dear God, Sometimes, I feel like I don’t quite fit in. I feel different from the people around me. I feel like the kid who plays alone on the playground. I realize that others may look at me and not see that sense of isolation. I know that part of it is due to decisions I have made not to show other people my true self. I also know that part of it is my desire to [...]

27 04, 2018

Nobody’s Perfect

2018-04-27T09:34:52-05:00April 27th, 2018|All blogs, Inside-Out with Dr. Tom Pace|0 Comments

Our inside-out habits: We pray. We study the Bible. We make friends. We tell our stories. We give ourselves away in generosity and service. God of mercy, I confess… I say that to you often. I confess… Do you get tired of hearing it? Do you get tired of hearing about the same old sins, over and over? Do you grow weary of my weakness, annoyed by my failures at real repentance, worn out by my words imploring you to come in and save me from myself? You know, when my kids come to me and tell me they need [...]

20 04, 2018

In Awe of You

2018-04-27T09:07:37-05:00April 20th, 2018|All blogs, Inside-Out with Dr. Tom Pace|0 Comments

Our inside-out habits: We pray. We study the Bible. We make friends. We tell our stories. We give ourselves away in generosity and service. A PERSONAL PRAYER God, I am so thankful that I was blessed with parents who believe in me. They taught me that I was special, that I could accomplish anything I set my mind to, that my potential was unlimited. Thank you for that. I am so grateful. It has led me to always want to grow, to be better, to aspire to be used for a greater purpose. It has formed my perceptions of what you expect [...]

13 04, 2018

The Smile of God

2018-04-13T08:57:32-05:00April 13th, 2018|All blogs, Inside-Out with Dr. Tom Pace|0 Comments

A PERSONAL PRAYER God, I read all my old prayers to you, God, and recognize how often they are filled with contrition and confession. I continually remind you of how far short I fall. I try to be honest before you, approaching you with humility. And I know that such contrition and confession is appropriate – my sin is real. But I also can see how unbalanced that prayer life is, and how weary you must get of hearing me apologize to you. It is as if your attitude toward me is primarily disappointment.  When I read your Bible, I see [...]

6 04, 2018

Come to the River…

2018-04-06T09:08:06-05:00April 6th, 2018|All blogs, Inside-Out with Dr. Tom Pace|0 Comments

A PERSONAL PRAYER God, I am so thankful for this last Sunday. You did indeed breathe new life into me. I felt a resurrection of the heart. I felt my bones come together and form life again. I was lifted up. Thank you, God, for new life, abundant life, everlasting life. God, I pray that I would be able to continue to receive this amazing life you give me each and every day. But what shall I do with it? It needs to come out of me, to pour into the lives of others. It makes me want [...]

30 03, 2018

A Blessed Weekend

2018-03-30T11:10:20-05:00March 30th, 2018|All blogs, Inside-Out with Dr. Tom Pace|0 Comments

A PERSONAL PRAYER God of both Fridays and Sundays, “See from his head, his hands, his feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down! Did e'er such love and sorrow meet…?” - Isaac Watts, early Methodist hymnodist. I stand amazed by your love, for me, God. When I stand in the court of the pavements of my imagination, watching the whip, the thorns, the humiliation…, my heart breaks. When I trail behind your son to the cross, watch him fall and struggle to rise, I bow my head in shame and sadness. But then I consider you, God… seeing what we do to [...]

23 03, 2018

I can do it myself!

2018-03-23T11:15:23-05:00March 23rd, 2018|All blogs, Inside-Out with Dr. Tom Pace|0 Comments

Our inside-out habits: We pray. We study the Bible. We make friends. We tell our stories. We give ourselves away in generosity and service. A PERSONAL PRAYER God, From the time I was little, I said “I can do it myself!” I don’t take any telling, because I know the answers all by myself. I am the helper, not the helpee. If I work a little harder or think a little more or behave a little better, I can make it right. But God, it seems that the more I try to do it myself, the further I wander away [...]

16 03, 2018

What comes from hard times?

2018-03-15T15:31:47-05:00March 16th, 2018|All blogs, Inside-Out with Dr. Tom Pace|0 Comments

Our inside-out habits: We pray. We study the Bible. We make friends. We tell our stories. We give ourselves away in generosity and service. A PERSONAL PRAYER God, Times are good, now, in my life. Thank you for that, for the many blessings that come my way, the good circumstances in which I find myself. I confess that these good times lead to a certain complacency on my part. There isn’t so much to learn from good times. I don’t grow. I don’t change. I see little reason to do anything any differently. I know things could be still better [...]

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