Boat Parades and Burdens

Boat Parade, Dana Point, California, December, 2008 Steps to Obedience Boat parades are a favorite Christmas tradition in waterfront communities. Participants spend days decorating their vessels with Christmas lights, Santas, stars and crosses. Skippers host parties aboard their boats, welcoming guests to enjoy the spectacle while enjoying food and drink. Boatloads of spectators line the edges […]


Risk, Fear, and Peace

The Pacific Ocean Shaking It Up I’ve been struck lately by passages in the bible that describe people’s fear of Christ’s power. Mark 5 provides one example: 15 A crowd soon gathered around Jesus, and they saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons. He was sitting there fully clothed and perfectly […]


Called to Serve

God’s Got your Number Did a situation ever get under your skin, moving you to act? Rowdy Metzger has a tale about that. On October 16, in Pasadena, a young father abandoned his car in a parking garage, leaving his three-year-old son strapped in his car seat, and stumbled away, drunk. Police subsequently arrested him for […]


Taking a Spill

Doc at the Treacherous Threshold Trust and Fear My dog Doc took a nasty spill this week. Coming in from our deck on a rainy day, he spun out on the wet floor in our kitchen, slid, and wound up splayed out on the hard tile in a heap. Being a tough little guy, he shook […]


Faith Made a Mountain, Part Two

Judi, Leonard, Me, and Big Smiles Catch some Joy Sunday I told you about the trip we made to Salvation Mountain the day before. Five days later, Leonard and his mountain are still very much in my heart. I keep reflecting on his joy. If you go to see Salvation Mountain, Leonard will want to […]