Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been tagged as “living loved”
Apocalypse and Hope. Do they seem like opposites? I have always thought of them that way—in opposition to each other. It turns out … I’ve been wrong. In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus describes a time when everything will change. The temple, the center of religious life and a place described as “the house of the Lord” (1 Kings 6:1), …
“Sitting across from the offering box, Jesus was observing how the crowd tossed money in for the collection. Many of the rich were making large contributions. One poor widow came up and put in two small coins—a measly two cents. Jesus called his disciples over and said, ‘The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than …
I’ve thought about this a lot and I think I can sum up the problem with loving my neighbor in one word: ME. I love my neighbor really well as long as it isn’t too hard or too expensive or … too inconvenient. I love my neighbor as long as it works for ME. Loving my neighbor would be a …
In the wake of Hurricane Michael—the Category 4 Storm that struck Florida on October 10—my community is a mess. It looks like a game of pick-up sticks was played on a cosmic scale, using 100-foot tall pine trees and concrete power poles. And we were the lucky ones! West of us, it’s not a matter of debris and inconvenience, there …
<<As this blog post goes live, Hurricane Michael is nearing landfall not far from my home.>> A couple of weeks ago I changed the background on my phone. As Hurricane Michael invades my part of the world, it feels especially apropos. I changed it to an image of a Jack Pine forest. I’m certainly not an arborist or horticulturist or even …
Sometimes, I’m not a good listener. Occasionally my mind will wander or my phone will distract me, but more often, I’m not a good listener because I’m thinking about how to react to what I’m hearing. It could be that I’m thinking through what I will say or how to relate to your story, but I also have to concentrate …
Another title for this blog post could easily have been “Rules & Fools Like Me.” I’m a rule-follower. When I cook, I like to start with a recipe. When I buy something, I like to know the return policy. When I sign a contract, I focus on two things—what I’m expected to do and the cancellation terms. Come to think …
There is a well-known (and yet completely unknown) group of people with a lot of wisdom. They. They say honesty is the best policy and I think They are right. Sometimes, however, we use honesty as an excuse or a cover for—dare I say it so bluntly—rudeness. We turn honesty into a weapon against others when really we should use …
Sometimes, looking in the mirror brings us face to face with things we’d rather not see. The mirror shows us our flaws up close and personal. Looking in a spiritual mirror can do the same thing. In Psalm 51, the Psalmist has looked in the spiritual mirror and come face to face with the ugliness that lies within: “I know …
At least once every summer, we throw a party for the church youth group. They come to our house and play games, swim in the pool, and eat pizza. Although it might sound like insanity to some people, we love having a house full of teenagers! We’ve done this for a few years now and we’ve learned there are three …