Everyone has a unique take on spiritual growth because we’re all different in some way, so we all gravitate toward one preference or another. Yet I keep coming back to seven key areas. If you have an additional eighth one, that’s great. These seven areas are universally important to anyone who seeks to grow in spirit and character. And they must all be intentional. This sevenfold path is not something to achieve. We don’t get there. We never “arrive.” This is a path we go on. These are attitudes. They are commitments. They are practices. This sevenfold path is one…
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For most of my life, I’ve been oriented and reminded about having goals. Goals are good.But they just sit there ahead of you.Which is why I often failed to reach them. I got bogged down in between where I was and where I wanted to go. I learned that more important than the goal itself is the process. I have discovered that you are not separated from your vision and goals by time. You’re separated by action. acts within the whole process–most acts are small–must be intentional and consistent. this is true in every single area of life. And it’s…
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I hesitated to post this month on the Israel-Gaza War because it would have been extremely long, and I don’t want to get political. But I concluded that I would be remiss if I did not at least post a biblical perspective that doesn’t get in the news. I’m limiting myself to that here, though there’s so much more to say from different perspectives. If you’d like the full four-pages of uncommon perspectives, you may email me, and I’ll send it. Israel was among the earliest nation states that is still a nation state today. The land called Israel /…
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I edited a book for Dr. Ed West, who wrote, “A Christian who is exhausted by living life like everyone else should repent and start over.” Think about that. (And I’m not talking about exhaustion from sickness or life’s heavy demands—of course we’ll be exhausted from that. And I’m not talking about exhaustion from working hard at something meaningful and purposeful—go at it!)Here I’m focusing on exhaustion from living life with other people or contemporary society as the standard.Do you ever get exhausted by living your life like everyone else? Maybe it’s buying and paying for things the world says you…
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I grew up seeing ducks. Maybe you did to. From my bird books, I identified all kinds of ducks and distinguished them by their plumage and behavior. I’ve seen ducks for sixty years, seen them beautifully fly, glide across a lake, dive and resurface, waddle cutely on land—always with the pervasive quack. But while my wife was shopping at Lake Arrowhead, I watched the ducks in crystal-clear water. I was amazed. I have never before witnessed the many ways in which ducks move their feet underwater. Their techniques are like that of a skilled canoeist. They narrow (or feather) their…
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