ContemplativeJourney

Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. Proverbs 24:11 The Planned Parenthood video.  Let's talk about it. I understand fully, before I write these words, that some will be outraged by what I say, others will feel hurt or shame, and others will agree with my perspective. I'd like to back up and tell you about a reading habit that I first picked up, as an adolescent. Candidly, I can't recall whether a Sunday School teacher or a Youth Minister suggested it, but someone back there in my young days suggested reading through the biblical book of Proverbs each month.  With 31 chapters, it is easy to use as a daily reading plan, and because of its practical wisdom about living life, I have always loved it.  For most of the last 30-40 years, I have been reading 1 chapter each day in Proverbs, starting with chapter 1 on the first day of each month.  On the 24th day of each month, I have read chapter 24...hundreds...

How do you "rest"?  Is it difficult for you to unwind and disconnect from the busy-ness of your daily life? What is the definition of rest? I looked it up in  Merriam-Webster's dictionary and found these 2 definitions that resonate for me: 1. freedom from activity or labor 2. peace of mind or spirit I believe it's important for each of us to regularly experience both definitions - to slow down and disconnect from the frantic pace that typically characterizes our lives.  Physical rest is crucial.  Even in the creation story told in the Bible's book of Genesis, we are told that God rested on the 7th day.  If God chooses rest for Himself, who are we to say we don't need a break? We all need a break.  In agriculture, farmers routinely rest their fields from planting on a rotating basis. Why?  Because even the ground needs a rest from its work to support the creation and growth of plants and food. Secondly, we all need a break from the mental pr...

    I am without question a strong-willed child.  Well, I'm not technically a child anymore, but by gosh, I am definitely strong-willed.  Starting in my late 20s, I began working quite intentionally on the character traits of empathy and compromise. There have been moments when I felt real progress had been made, I can much more easily roll along with the opinions of others, even when I want to go the opposite direction, or feel my understanding of the facts is clearly the correct understanding.   And then, there are days like I've had last week and this...when I thought I was being completely reasonable, generous even...and the person on the other end of the negotiation tells me I'm not listening, and never compromise.  What to do with this shocking encounter with another strong-willed person?  Am I correct in my assessment, or is he?   When it comes to the rough and tumble world of business ownership, the balancing act ...

  The week of June 21, 2015 was a very significant one in the life of the United State and its Supreme Court.  Two decisions were rendered that have and will continue to have an enormous impact on our country and its citizens.  As I have watched the news reports, listened to the pundits, and mostly observed the commentary going back and forth on social media, I have pondered whether or not I wanted to weigh in with an opinion.   My family and friends know that I always have an opinion, so I can't hide behind the excuse that I'm neutral.  I am not neutral in my perspective on either decision.  At the same time, I have had some very painful experiences over the past number of years that came out of disagreements in the political and theological sphere, and these experiences give me pause as I take the risk of revealing my positions...perhaps you can relate to this concern.  I don't think any of us set out to hurt other people's feelings when we ...

Recent articles in several papers indicate that a deal is done, or close to done...to bring Josh Hamilton back to the Texas Rangers. Just a few days ago, I was on a tour of the Louisville Slugger Factory in Louisville, Kentucky, listening to the tour guide talk about the unique qualities of Josh's bat. Internally, I had thoughts that were more filled with disgust than compassion.  What a waste, I thought to myself...and what a narcissistic individual he was.  Less than 2 hours later, I was sitting on a plane reading an article about Josh Hamilton and his wife's divorce filing; my arrogance turned to sincere sadness.  Yes, I thought again, what a waste.  But my thought was different now, realizing the brokenness that surely hangs over Josh, his wife, and their children.  I realized my own misplaced pride, and the fact that my brokenness is no more or less ugly than his.  We are all broken in different ways. Addiction is comprised of many factors - mora...

 How was Easter for you and your family?  Was it special and filled with worshipful wonder and the laughter of children searching for hidden eggs?  I hope it was that for you, and more. I began the day enjoying an amazing worship time with my church family in Murphy.  Our young church is just starting it's 8th year of ministry, and I found myself giddy with excitement over the number of families that crowded into our last service of the morning.  The singing was wonderful, but then again, I'm a singer, so for me the singing is always wonderful!  I am grateful every week for a pastor who unflinchingly proclaims the truth of scripture and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but I was especially grateful this morning for how God used him to share with us, verse by verse, the story of the two women coming to the tomb on Sunday morning. I have not heard the perspective he shared, and it made an impact on me that I'd like to share with you.  You see, these ...

When we are young, we dream great dreams and have great visions.  We will be nurses, doctors, firemen and superheroes.  We will marry Prince Charming and have beautiful children who think we are the most wonderful parents in the history of the world.  As we grow older, we sometimes wake up to find our dreams have faded away...some of us lose sight of our dreams altogether.  Others of us never really learn to dream, or find the loss of some dreams too painful to risk trying to dream again. A thought occurred to me just now about the nature of dreaming...when we're in love, we usually dream great dreams about the object of our affection.  What we will do and where we will go...what we will say in a special moment, and just how we will look.  In a word, dreaming is akin to obsession. An obsession that steals us away...lost in imaginative thoughts of happy times and unlimited possibilities. Do you have any dreams left to dream?  Any magnificent obs...