When I began to grow grapevines, one of the hardest things to do was to prune them. I understood that pruning was necessary if I wanted grapes and not just vines, but apart from that, I had no idea what I was doing. It was heart-rending to remove so much Read more
Is it hard to say, “I love you” to the One who loves you most? For me, it is. I felt prompted recently to take up a more disciplined approach to prayer, primarily for the sake of the many I have in my heart to care for. Discipline requires structure. Read more
R.E.S.P.E.C.T. How I treat other humans is a function of how I view other humans. If I respond to them as annoyances or as servants, co-laborers or competitors, or whether I regard them at all is because of how I see them. The important truth that I must understand is Read more
Speechless in the blessed music of rain! Thank You. Thunder rumbles – a long, low growl over my head from west to east. Palm trees roar in the wind and bow to the force of You — bent but not broken as the giant grasses they are! The leaves make Read more
Know that the LORD, he is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. — Psalms 100:3 Read more
So you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him. — Deuteronomy 8:6 Navigation used to be by landmarks: Left at the boulder that looks like a praying monk, near the cave with all the bats, just upstream of the Read more
(Longer-than-normal post warning) A week ago I was in the mountains outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico at a Student Life camp with hundreds of teens and their adult leaders. The topography required over 11,000 steps per day with an average of 8 floors of climbing at 7000′. Two weeks Read more
Wow. It’s been a month since I posted anything! Here are some bits and pieces from my conversations with Papa-God over the last few weeks: …(While visiting someone in their new home.) I welcome You to this home – this elegant, spacious, clever, well-appointed house-but-not-quite-home. I release the presence of Read more
The last few days have included lots of waiting: waiting for canceled flights to be rescheduled, waiting for a place to sit in the crowded concourse where hundreds of others also waited for skies to clear, planes to be emptied and readied for the next wave of passengers, waiting for Read more
It has been pretty tough around here trying to walk in the footsteps of Jesus when the everyday stuff of life includes: — Physical challenges: Near 100° temperatures at the time when trees need the hard ground around them tilled up so they can receive precious, fruit-producing nutrients; minor surgeries Read more