"…all our stories are about Jesus."
I first sat on the curb with Lars a few years ago. He wouldn't look at me, or talk to me, or accept anything from me. The most I got out of him was, "No thanks." I quickly learned to not hand him money or food, but to simply leave it on the sidewalk for …
Continue reading "What Change Time Yields"
Have you ever played Hide and Seek Tickle? Here's what you do: the adult hides, and all the kids search for the adult, but separately. The kid who finds the adult gets pulled into a tickle hug and isn't let go until the other kids come running to the rescue. Then all the kids get …
There is something about "being in God's presence"--that moment of spiritual awareness of Him--that one cannot forget. For me, it has mostly come, like the psalm writer says, when I have been in a place where crowds of people have stood, or bowed, or sang, or shouted His attributes: His praiseworthiness, His goodness, His justice, …
...and after Ps 24, when we recognize God as creator, redeemer, friend and King, our souls trust in Him, we feel His forgiveness, and we are able to receive His instruction and live humble before Him. God, may our families and communities receive Your word and instruction with humble hearts.
Ps 19 speaks of God's creation, declaring His glory and His works. Ps 22 declares His suffering to redeem us from death. Ps 23 shows how He shepherds us through life. Ps 24 asks us to welcome Him as King. Lord, may we recognize You as creator, redeemer, friend and King.
One of my favorite pictures, and combined with the 23rd Psalm and where we were in life, this moment is a forever-memory for me of God shepherding our family.
Jesus cries out from this psalm while on the cross. The whole psalm not only has foreshadowing and direct prophesy, it declares : "It will be told of the Lord to the coming generation..." What God has done will be told. Lord, let it be told to the coming generation!
I really enjoy these Psalms that hint at Jesus and what He does for us. I can't imagine being the guys who got these glimpses of Christ revealed to them the Spirit. May our kids have revelations of Christ's 2nd coming!
Rockin' out "securely on high!" May our children remember the "highs"--the good times as family, the "good times" with God.
Lord God, lift our eyes from the tiny worlds we make for ourselves and focus them upon Your wonders.
(Can't tell you how many times we sang this growing up in church. Might even have been the first church song I learned how to play.) Lord God, be exalted and be blessed, for You alone are worthy of praise. You have saved us from our enemies, and are the Ever-living One.
Thank You, Lord God, for Your paths, and as we tread upon them may our feet be secure. Thank You for the privilege of calling upon You and being heard by You.
This verse is awesome. Peter preaches from it in Acts 2. The Lord did not allow Jesus to undergo decay, but raised Him up. He also will not abandon our souls to death, but raise us up!
This is all of Psalm 15, and it is meaningful for me because I memorized it with my son while we were overseas.
Lord, may we not entertain the thoughts of the foolish and may we ever be thankful that You sought us out so that we might seek You. A strange verse to teach our kids, yes. Except that Paul uses it later to show that none of us prove ourselves by seeking after God. It is …
May our children find that even when You seem far away, that their hearts remember what You have already done and that they rejoice in You. It's hard when God seems distant. Maybe because we grow up hearing He's always there. How do we teach our kids to trust He's there when it doesn't feel …
Lord, prove Your words to us. Take care of the afflicted and needy, that our generations may see...
Lord, let our children not learn to love violence, but Your peace.
Lord, let our children learn to be humble, and strengthen their little hearts.
Lord, when our children see unfairness and oppression and times of trouble, may they put their trust in You.
When in a plane, the most wonderful screen you can stare at, the most entertaining, soul-reflective screen is the one that reminds you of your true size: the window. The God of the universe cares for you.
May we be at peace, for we know that...
The Lord, the God of all the tiny details of the world, hears our prayers.
Monday mornings can be rough. But if we are in the practice of ordering our prayers to God and eagerly watching, the whole week can have new meaning!
A great verse to learn before kids start having nightmares.
Yes, this is a sock puppet I made years ago, one of a set of two with which a friend and I did a brief children's ministry stint. We named our socks Frodo and Sam. And yes, he took this sock all the way to New Zealand where the Lord of the Rings movies were …
I first learned this as a chorus in a song about missions.
This wall is part of a complex in Mexico that cares for children. My son and I spent a week there last Christmas. May all our children be like trees, firmly planted in the word of God, yielding fruit in their season.
I have tried. Maintaining a regular devotional schedule is hard enough, but to do one that your kids will want to do with you... I've bombed out. Trying to do devotions during breakfast feels rushed. Everybody wants to get ready for the rest of the day, make the bus, etc. Whatever it is, it's got …
Continue reading "Collecting 150, a school day morning devotional plan"
You know when you go grocery shopping and you get that cart with the bad wheel in the front? The one that sticks, or lumps along, or pulls your cart to one side? Sucks, right? Imagine pushing that cart down the road as you leave town with everything you could find while scrounging through dumpsters. …
I drew this while covering a study hall. I needed to express what I felt when being with Lars, what he must feel, and I wanted to engage the students in conversation. This is actually my third attempt at this drawing, all in the same class. The first two were too disproportionate. I wanted the …
Jesus packs a lot into one sentence. John 4:10 Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water." That's thick: Do we know the gift of …
When my son was five I gave him a Swiss Army pocket knife for Christmas. He did not ask me, "What's this for?" I'm sure he didn't understand all that could be done with a pocket knife, but he was keen to get started. I sat him down and gave him a less than ten …
Did you bake Moses a birthday cake? Because he's about to make this awesome wish in this story and God is willing to grant it... on our behalf!!! We're picking up mid-stream, where God says... Numbers 11 Say to the people, 'Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat; for you have wept in …
There's no way the Acts 2 story was a total shocker for the disciples. They might not have expected the wind or the vision of fire or speaking in unknown tongues, but they did have this story that hinted that they'd prophesy. "Thanks, Moses. You're a pal." Numbers 11:4 The rabble who were among them …
Over and over, while I grew up, I was told the Holy Spirit was a gentleman. He wouldn't force Himself upon you. He'd come only if you invited Him. This may have been experience talking. I don't remember the disciples "inviting" the Holy Spirit in Acts 2... but Jesus had promised He would come, so …
God takes such a long time telling His story--lifetimes and generations really--that Peter's sermon is like reading an exclamation point. It takes longer to blink. But the emphasis, the conclusions drawn, and the witness of God's Holy Spirit accompanying Peter's words are powerful and they convict the listeners to the point that they understand they …
The net has been cast. The people have come. The rushing sound from heaven, the praises given to God in a miraculous way--the people themselves are becoming witnesses of these things. And when Peter explains that this is what the prophet Joel foretold, that the Scriptures are being fulfilled and the day of the Lord …
Continue reading "The Unbreakable Net In Which You Are Caught"
If I were to make a movie on the Acts of the Apostles, I'd skip the first chapter (save it for flash-back) and spend the opening five minutes (that first gripping moment) on the next two sentences: Acts 2 When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. And suddenly …
You've had the dream. You're at school or work or some other extremely public place and life is just cruising along until you look down and realize you are not wearing any clothes. Underwear maybe, but no clothes. Sudden panic ensues, usually resulting in you waking up only to wonder if you've finally made it …
My son saw me loading this sketch and asked, "Is that Jesus?" A Jack and Lars Update I haven't seen Jack since some time in October. I was in Tim Horton's, frustrated that I needed to get a job and couldn't just make it happen, angry that any job would take away time from me …
On October 24, 2014, in the Marysville Pichuck High School cafeteria, 15-year-old freshman Jaylen Fryberg met the five students he had invited to lunch via text. He shot all five (fatally wounding four of them) and then committed suicide. Whatever we may do in order to stop these school shootings from happening, I hope that …
Cassie Bernall Killed April 20, 1999 Columbine High School
He came alone. I might ‘a been a little girl, but I remember what I saw. T’was a bright summer’s morning down at the shore. The haze had burned off hours ago, t’weren’t a bit fogged over as the tellers now say. An’ he din’na come walking on the water neither. His craft were simple, …
There Was An Old Lady... A Sex-Change, Homeless Old Lady Just as I'm walking out of Rona, pieces in hand to fix my kitchen sink, she enters. She who had been a he. I recognize her from when I was sitting on the sidewalk with my buddy Aaron and Lars. Today she's wearing a long …
Continue reading "There was an old lady… a sex-change, homeless old lady…"
Look past the craziness, or the oppressive blandness--the apparent lack of life--and remember to be encouraged by what you're "in" and what's "in you." Philippians 1:3-11 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now.
Sometimes we don't realize we're under spiritual attack-- Hold that thought, and notice that it is a we mentality that Paul uses when writing. Ephesians 6 is not suddenly addressed to one person. "Bob, be strong in the Lord." Nope. In the NKJV, it's "Finally, my brethren..." (an all inclusive term, in this case after …
Red Letter Promises: Scriptures to Pray for Family, John 14:27 Before Jesus left the earth, He said, "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful..." Let's break it down. Peace …
But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its rays...
I started praying Psalm 3 with my kids whenever they had nightmares and were afraid to go to bed at night. But it's more than just a good "now I lay me down to sleep" psalm. It's great to pray for whole families, missionaries, everybody really.
A FAR, FAR BETTER SCRIPT... (or at least the start) “STAR WARS” appears on screen to traditional fanfare. Yellow words scroll off into distance. “The Republic is no more. General Leia Organa has ordered the survivors of the Resistance Army to scatter beyond the outer rim of the galaxy to seek refuge and aid. Although …
Continue reading "STAR WARS VIII: A Far, Far Better Script…"
Dear Disney, I'm going to stall for a bit in this letter so that those who have not yet seen the film won't accidentally read any "spoilers". I'll start with the compliments. You kept John Williams as composer. Most wise. In buying the StarWars franchise, you acquired yet another Disney princess. She fit all your …
Faces of Jesus: Lars & Christmas Today Lars has survived our first serious frost. I asked him today how he spent the night. "Right here." Under the awning of the building where one can go inside and choose carpet and flooring. I handed him my typical Nature Valley granola bars and a five dollar bill, …
"If you have faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and be planted in the sea'; and it would have obeyed you.
