I love the stories of the patriarchs in Genesis (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph). To me, they are real life redemption stories. Yes, they go through a lot of drama and they make a lot of stupid mistakes (although not that much different from some of the stupid things we do nowadays). But they hang … Continue reading Thanking God when it’s hard

We’ve been talking about thanksgiving as a lifestyle, not just a November holiday, over the past couple of weeks. Having an attitude of gratitude is central to Whole Life Worship. Without it, we lose sight of the grace of God. Without it, we cannot worship God from our hearts. Without it, our minds cannot be … Continue reading Giving God an opening

Back in 1977, Johnny Paycheck (interesting name, huh?) came up with a hit song, “Take This Job and Shove It.” Four years later this inspired the movie of the same name. But more than a song and a movie, the idea that we are all entitled to the “dream job” permeated into the very fabric … Continue reading Thanking God for our jobs

Today my mom and sister called with some hard news: my Grandma (my Mom’s mom) had a stroke and she will most likely not be alive a week from now. She is 95 and is in the latter stages of Alzheimer’s. Her quality of life these past few years have not been good. She’s ready … Continue reading Thanks for the memories

I was waiting for a red light the other day and I could not think of one thing to be thankful for. As you know, I’ve adopted a new practice of giving thanks whenever I get stuck at a red light as a way to help me slow down and put God at the forefront … Continue reading Thankful for what we have

Of the first things that come to my mind when I am giving thanks to God are my “loved ones.” These are family and friends who make life worth living, those people who have loved us and whom we have had the honor and privilege to love. Whenever I pause to give thanks, the very … Continue reading Thankful for Loved Ones

In the movie, "A League of Their Own," Coach Jimmy Dugan explains to Dottie Hinson about the hardness of playing baseball. He says, "If baseball were easy, everyone would be doing it." The same is true with thanksgiving. If giving thanks were easy, a lot more people would be doing it. We'd have more joyful … Continue reading The Hardness of Starting to Give Thanks

It's time for me to get back to the gym. After 3 weeks of "taking a vacation" from the elliptical and ab bench (not to mention some not so healthy eating), I'm starting to feel it: not only around my gut, but in feeling tired more often, getting more irritable than normal, and having difficulty … Continue reading Exercising Thankfulness

Sunday, November 10 is my birthday. I will be 56 years old. It’s safe to say that I’m beyond midlife, not quite to twilight, but at that place where I’m seriously “numbering my days” (Psalm 90:12). It’s been a good life thus far; I’ve been quite blessed, way beyond what any person deserves. And while … Continue reading A Reflective Birthday Moment

Yesterday, I shared some of C.S. Lewis’ reflections as a way to springboard on the ways we overemphasize our prayer “methods” and “protocol” to give prayer a greater credence to ourselves and others. After writing it, I wondered, “I hope the readers don’t think that I am discounting prayer itself or the Biblically stressed importance … Continue reading The Subject Over Our Requests