“God is to problems what a hurricane is to a mosquito. No match.”- Max Lucado, You Were Made for This Moment “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place. . . . And who knows but that you have come to your royal position […]
“I neglect God and His angels, for the noise of a fly, for the rattling of a coach, for the whining of a door.”- John Donne, English poet (1572-1631) “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”- Hebrews 13:2 (ESV) The temperature soared to 95 degrees on July […]
My favorite meditative walk involves hiking a 1.7 mile trail around Mallard Lake at the Wehr Nature Center in Hales Corners, WI. On September 17, 2020, I spotted a great blue heron perched on a fallen tree that crossed a small river. That heron went about its hunting, unperturbed by my presence. Blue herons range […]
“So when I fight I’ll fight on my knees / With my hands lifted high. / Oh God, the battle belongs to you. / And every fear I lay at your feet. / I’ll sing through the night, / The battle belongs to you.”- Phil Wickham “This is what the LORD says to you: ‘Do […]
“[Mark 5:36] describes the critical principle for seeing the unseen. Ignore what people say. Block them out. Turn them off. Close your ears. And if you must, walk away. . . . Faith sometimes begins by stuffing your ears with cotton.”- Max Lucado, Begin Again (2021) “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the […]
“The central reality for Christians is the personal, unalterable, persevering commitment God makes to us. Perseverance is not the result of our determination, it is the result of God’s faithfulness. We survive in the way of faith not because we have extraordinary stamina but because God is righteous, because God sticks with us.”- Eugene Peterson, […]
“There is another in the fire,/ standing next to me./ There is another in the waters,/ holding back the sea./ And should I ever need reminding/ what power set me free,/ there is a grave that holds no body,/ and now that power lives in me.”- Chris Davenport and Joel Houston, Another in the Fire […]
“Desirable difficulty. Sounds like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? What’s desirable about difficulty? At first glance, nothing! Upon further review, everything.”- Mark Batterson “In fact, [the other ants] left in such a hurry that none of them noticed the two ants who stayed behind. ‘Why go back?’ one asked the other. ‘The place may not feel […]
“Habit stacking is . . . coupling a habit that comes easy . . . with a habit that requires a little more discipline. . . . Habit stacking is designing daily rituals by leveraging everyday activities.”- Mark Batterson Now when Jesus came to the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, . . […]
“Take all the breath in my lungs,/ You’ll hear the rocks crying glory to God./ Take everything that I’ve got/ And you’ll see two empty hands lifted up./ You may silence me, but the cross forever speaks.”- Matt Maher Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” “I tell […]
“Some people think You just live in cathedrals made of stone/ But I know you live inside my heart, I know that it’s your home./ And I’ve seen you in a sunset and the eyes of a stranger on the street./ That’s who You are to me.”- Chris Tomlin “Happy are the people who know […]
“Break forth, O beauteous heavenly light,/ And usher in the morning./ Ye shepherds shrink not with afright,/ The day of grace is dawning./ This child though weak in infancy,/ Our confidence and joy shall be,/ The pow’r of Satan breaking,/ Our peace with God now making.”- Lutheran Service Book 378, v. 1 “The people walking […]