A PERSONAL PRAYER O God, Sometimes, I feel like I am addressing the symptoms rather than the illness. Sometimes, I feel like I am changing the clothes I am wearing rather than improving the health of the soul. I worry about the fruit of my life – what impact am I making? How can I treat people better? How can I listen more? How can I address the issues I am avoiding? How can I be happier, healthier, better? But all of these outward behaviors are simply outgrowths of something far more central, something at the core of who [...]

A PERSONAL PRAYERGod of New Beginnings,You know how I love that old hymn, “Rise Up, O Men of God. Have done with lesser things.” I am ready to be done with lesser things. Time to turn the page. Time for a fresh start, new energy, renewed commitment. It is time to quit……nursing old grudges…feeding old anxieties…practicing old vices…enabling old dependencies…repeating old sins.And it is time to start……believing new hopes…living new lifestyles…dreaming new visions…building new coalitions…making new friends…claiming new opportunities…seeing new miracles.Help me begin again, God. In Jesus name,Amen.SOME THOUGHTS TO SHAREChristmas Eve AppreciationWhat a joy it was to be with all of you on Christmas [...]

A PERSONAL PRAYERGod of Love,You seem to have sent some conflicting messages, and I get confused sometimes. It seems that how I view the arrival of the Messiah depends a bit on the prophet to whom I listen. Some of the prophets speak of doom, of fear, of all sorts of bad things. The prophet Amos proclaims, “Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD! Why do you long for the day of the LORD? That day will be darkness, not light.” Amos 5:18 On the other hand, the prophet Isaiah claims that when the Messiah comes, “they will [...]

A PERSONAL PRAYERGod,I confess that I have grown cynical about some things. I see problems in the world, and don’t see how they can really be solved. I see challenges in my life, and figure I will never be able to overcome them. My logic tells me I am right to feel such a way. We humans are flawed, sinful, so we will always be hurting one another, taking more than our share of things, treating others as objects to be used. And the world is a broken place, and diseases and tragedies will always be with us. And yet, when I look around, I [...]

A PERSONAL PRAYERGod,Yep, I like my life just the way it is. Can’t I just go on like this? Like an old familiar car, or a chair that fits me just right, I like it just fine. And yet, I know that nothing can remain the same. Everything changes. The familiar gives way to the unfamiliar, and by the time that new thing is familiar, something else is upon us. It seems the only constant is change itself. God, sometimes the change is so hard to deal with.If I am honest, even though my life is wonderful, there is something nagging in me that makes [...]

God, I wake up each day and look at the news. I think “seriously? Is this real?” I wonder who will get slaughtered in a mass shooting today? I wonder who will be accused of sexual harassment? I wonder what hateful things will be said or done to divide us even more than we are already divided? I confess that now, I even expect these things. I look for them. I dwell on them. I talk to others about them around the coffeepot at work. Like they say in the news business, “if it bleeds, it leads,” and I have let the problems [...]

A PERSONAL PRAYER God, On Thanksgiving morning, I am reminded that being thankful should be like breathing. Your apostle Paul says to rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances. All of these commands remind me that giving thanks isn’t something I should just stop and do sometimes. Rather, gratitude should be the very flavor of all of my thoughts, words, and deeds. It seems funny to have a single day dedicated to such a thing. We don’t have a national breathing day, or a day set aside for seeing or hearing. Giving thanks is simply a way of being [...]

God,I could use a makeover, like on television, when they show those before and after pictures. As I am now, my heart sags. My eyes look down instead of up. I have bags under my spirit. My motives have grown dark like circles under my eyes. My hope is giving out like flabby arm flesh. And I have bald spots where I no longer have any works of love. I need a makeover, God.Come and recreate me in the image of your Son, my Lord, my savior, and my brother. Make me new again, that I may be a part of the new creation  [...]

God, sometimes love is easy. Showing up to help a friend. Making a phone call to a grieving brother or sister in Christ. Loving folks who love me right back. Thank you so much for that kind of amazing love, those relationships that make life full of joy and peace, patience and kindness, generosity and faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. That kind of love makes me get up in the morning, and fills my heart until it overflows. There are other days, God, when love is more like work. Sometimes, when I love others, it doesn’t seem to make much difference. Their pain isn’t [...]

A PERSONAL PRAYERGod,There is stuff in my life that needs “mucking out.” You know my stuff, my challenges, my issues. I say things that are hurtful and then wonder “where did that come from?” I find myself dividing the world into “us” and “them.” I decide to do what feels good, even if I know it doesn’t help build your kingdom in any way. I choose to spend the resources you put me in charge of on things that are not consistent with your purposes. And pride - oh my own pride and ambition – that is what takes me over. The list goes on. [...]