Running the Triathlon of Faith

Last fall I had the chance to watch athletes cross the finish line for an Ironman Triathlon. This is a grueling race that requires those who enter to swim 1.2-miles, bike 56-miles, and run 13.1 miles. Some of the people who finished looked like they could do another marathon, while others barely made it across […]

Prayer Journal

You carried me, Lord, through the dark times in my life. When I lay by the roadside beaten down, injured, unable to move, you were there. You picked me up and carried me to safety. You dressed my wounds and nurtured me back to health. When I was worn out, unable to take another step, […]

Sunday Praise

This I recall to my mind,Therefore I have hope.The LORD’S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,For His compassions never fail.They are new every morning;Great is Your faithfulness. – Lamentations 3:21-23, NASB

Germinating Faith

Growing up on a farm, I was familiar with all the work we did to get ready for spring. We would purchase seed and fertilizer, check the planting equipment, and prepare the soil for planting. Yet for all the work we did, we could not force the seeds to germinate and grow according to our […]

When God Doesn’t Deliver

He was simply doing what God called him to do, but it seemed so far nothing was going the way he expected. By the time we read about Moses’ return to Egypt to free the Israelites from Pharaoh in Exodus 5, he has caused them to endure harsher labor. “Then Moses returned to the LORD […]

Small Faith and Big Trials

We tend to think of big jobs requiring big things. If I need to move a lot of dirt I’m going to get a big earth moving machine. Yet when it comes to faith in Jesus, how big does my faith need to be, particularly when I’m facing a mountain-sized trial? Jesus said if you […]

Heartbreak Etched in Sand

I was walking the beach last week and I came across a message etched in the sand that I’m still thinking about. It was one of those messages where at first you smile and say, “That’s nice.” A moment later your heart sinks as you feel the weight of the last half of the note. […]

Not the Answer I Expected

Difficult situations can push us to our knees in prayer, pleading to God for relief. Yet how many times does God answer that prayer in a way we did not expect or desire? I wondered this about Ananias in Acts 9. I could see him, like other followers of Jesus at the time, praying to […]

Sunday Praise

With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God. And all the people saw him walking and praising God; and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple […]

Viewing Life in Panorama

The other day I was taking a picture of a sunset and I could not capture all the brilliant colors splashed across the sky in the frame. So I switched the camera to panorama mode and filled the frame with the sky and setting sun. It made me think about how sometimes we have a […]