From Sea to Shining Sea

An Extravaganza of Patriotism. July 4, 2011. Dana Point, California.  I love my God. And I love my country. Both.  Happy Independence, Day, America.  And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were amazed at Him. Mark 12:17 (NASB) Ready for some stillness […]


Presents From Unexpected Places (And a Giveaway!)

Count the Gifts. Cadence and His Great-Grandfather. April, 2010. There’s always a prize inside.  A few years ago, my third-millennium friend Glynn Young asked me a question that changed my worldview. I was sidelined with back pain, and in a comment-section discussion over at The High Calling he asked me a question that lobbed a friendly grenade into my cozy […]


The Discipline of Giving Up a Discipline

Revelations and New Year’s Eve. A Natural Pairing.  Living Green in the WordI told you, back on New Year’s Day, that my one word for 2013 is green. Green, I told you, means living (not dying), means new (not stale). Later I learned that Pantone had chosen emerald as its color of the year, but that’s […]


Independence Day

Fireworks over the Pacific Ocean. July 4, 2010. Set Free!Picnics, parades, and potato salad, fireworks and family. It must be the Fourth of July. Our niece, Vaite, visiting from her home in Tahiti, wrote:  July 4th is a great celebration day, to see people’s love for America it’s amazing …  Amazing. I never thought of […]


Come as You Are!

Just as You Are. Right Now. Even if Your Sweater is Crooked.  Humbled, not DiscouragedA passage in my Bible struck me as I read it a few days ago. I’ve read this passage before, but on this occasion it leaped off the page. “Don’t wait until you’re ready,” I heard.  I’m sharing the passage here […]