The theme for this Sunday’s service is self control.
When my wife and I went to our first OBGYN appointment, the nurse practitioner informed my wife of what she should expect for weight gain over the course of her pregnancy. Then the nurse practitioner turned to me and sternly said, “You should not gain any weight.” I did not quite follow her admonition. If not for giving up desserts for Lent, I might be looking eight months pregnant as well. I did not use much will power over the past few months.
The theme for this Sunday’s service is Gentleness.
Grant Golliher is a cowboy who has been breaking horses since he was a child, but about twenty-five years ago, he changed his method. His old method was tried and true. “Make ’em do it, show ’em who’s boss. If they give you any grief, whack ’em with a two-by-four.” He admits to ruining many talented horses with that method, and one horse even strangled himself trying to escape from Golliher’s breaking method. Continue reading Call to Worship: Gentleness→
Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding, for she is more profitable than silver and yields better returns than gold. She is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her. Long life is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honor. Her ways are pleasant ways, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who embrace her; those who lay hold of her will be blessed.
Proverbs 3:13-18 Continue reading Wise Thinking→
The mosquitoes that made me their blood bank during my most recent hiking trip gave me a strong reminder to pack insect repellent. Without blood, the female mosquito lacks the proteins necessary to produce fertile eggs. One could say that my blood was as valuable to them as it is to me; without blood there is no life. The tonsils or the appendix have never been considered the core of our being, but whether a culture centered the human soul in the mind, the heart, the stomach or the loins, blood still contained life. Continue reading True Blood→
I have a friend who describes herself as having a big voice. When she wants her son to come inside, she opens the front door and shouts his name. Because he always hears her, and comes home, she pictures a group of children, blocks away, saying, “Oooo. You better go home. Your mother wants you.” Continue reading The Calling→
Thoughts on Personal and Corporate Spiritual Formation
When my wife and I went to our first OBGYN appointment, the nurse practitioner informed my wife of what she should expect for weight gain over the course of her pregnancy. Then the nurse practitioner turned to me and sternly said, “You should not gain any weight.” I did not quite follow her admonition. If not for giving up desserts for Lent, I might be looking eight months pregnant as well. I did not use much will power over the past few months.