You know how it happens on the web…you click on an interesting title, then read a moving article, investigate the author’s bio, peruse the books he or she has written, and before you know it, 90 minutes have passed, and you can’t remember how you ended up clicking “buy now” on Amazon. That’s how I discovered, Not by Sight: A Fresh Look at Old Stories of Walking by Faith by Jon Bloom. “Through the imaginative retelling of 35 Bible stories, Not by Sight gives us glimpses of what it means to … [Read more...]
An Easter Ballad for the Day In Between
I can trace my love of imaginative, biblical narrative round and round the grooves of an LP 33 speed record album. Maybe you don’t remember, but a record album (pronounced reh-kerd al-buh-m) was in popular use shortly after the invention of the wheel and hieroglyphics--or so it seems. In the late 70s my parents bought an advanced piece of music technology. A stereo. This miracle of musical machinery was ensconced behind glass doors to reiterate the fact that all the blinking knobs and … [Read more...]
The Resolution I Kept
It's a well documented fact that I'm not good at keeping New Year's resolutions. My ambitious diet and exercise goals usually go the way of last month's wrapping paper and packaging, and aggressive reading goals like "read more books" get gobbled up by January's schedule. It feels like a sad commentary on an undisciplined adult. So several years ago, rather than documenting what I was going to DO, I decided to document what I'd already done. And in only one arena: Reading. I resolved to "keep … [Read more...]
On Caring for Yourself without Rolling Your Eyes
Self-Care. Stop right there. Did you just roll your eyes? I did. Or at least I used to. “Self care” sounded like a personality assessment, painted toe nails, and coffee with an elaborate drawing in the foamed milk. It seemed less than helpful to me. I mean, as believers in Jesus, aren’t we supposed to spend ourselves on behalf of the poor (Isaiah 58:10)? And shouldn’t we to consider others as better than ourselves (Phillipians 2:3)? And don’t we work heartily as though we’re working for … [Read more...]
On that First Christmas…
On that first Christmas, just moments after Jesus was born, it probably appeared to Joseph that the long-expected Messiah had arrived at an inappropriate place with no fanfare or announcement at all. Between the baby's delivery and the shepherd's disturbance, Joseph might have thought he was the only one. God had hidden from Joseph many future events. He knew Jesus was God’s Son, born to save His people from their sins. And for Joseph, at this moment, that was all God chose to show him. And … [Read more...]
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