No, as much as I loved their music, this post won’t focus on the Grateful Dead band and their fans. Sorry to all the deadheads, but the allusion is unavoidable for a 60s child! A few years ago, we prepped our house and yard for an overnight visit from my sister, her husband, and her friend, and I got the task of “deadheading” our Iceberg roses in the front yard. Icebergs produce abundant white roses, but flowers die and need to be pruned for new blooms to blossom. Hence the name “deadhead.” The process is to…
Read MoreMidnight Whispers
Possibly like some of you, my spiritual state moves up and down. Oh, I always believe in Jesus as my Savior and Lord and follow and serve Him, but the sense of closeness ebbs and flows. And frankly, I usually have no clue why, but I have learned some about the process. Two months ago, I was riding high spiritually. The last several weeks, not so much. God was there, I had no doubt, but the sense of intimacy wasn’t there. Then, after an excellent family Christmas and a marvelous Christmas worship service, God wooed me back with whispers in the night. It came with…
Read MoreThe Haunting and True Reason for the Season
In the Christmas season, we all heard the songs and the verses that reveal the reason for the season. But Matthew 1:21 gives an encouraging yet haunting purpose, as given by the angel to Mary, “you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Yes, we sin; yes, we need saving. Let’s explore this, because I’ve found that I, and perhaps many more, have an incomplete concept of sin, which can retard our spiritual journey. Let’s start by…
Read MoreChristmas Freedom
Distractions come easy for me, especially this time of year. The joy of picking and giving gifts. The beauty of houses extravagantly lit. The comfort of getting with family so often scattered in needed pursuit of separate lives. Congenial gatherings with friends and coworkers. All so focused on the fun of Christmas that I, at least, sometimes miss deeper truths. Not about the birth of Jesus, the wise men, the shepherds, and all. They get ample attention. But this year, another Christmas thought captivates me…
Read MoreGod's All-Seeing Eye
Some of us see distances well, but not up close. Others see the opposite. This past June, our Gray Hogs group rode the Sierra passes, and one particularly struck me: Tioga crossed the mountains from Yosemite to Lee Vining, because it demonstrated our need for multiple perspectives. The pics above show the massive domes of Tioga, and the delicate wildflowers along the road. We best got the sense of the domes and rocks from a distance, and had to get up close to the wildflowers. We tend to be limited to one perspective at a time. But God…
Read MoreMix Christmas Up a Bit!
We can so easily get into a rut, especially at Christmas. We know what we want, and keep doing it until it becomes a habit, and habits tend to dull our senses. We react automatically. Well, maybe we should mix Xmas up a bit and expand how we celebrate it. Like, with palms as Christmas trees. After all, I don’t remember seeing Douglas Firs in manger scenes. 😉 We had a nice discussion on Facebook about changes…
Read MoreFree Will?
Let’s flip the coin. Last week, we began to explore God’s role in daily life with a story of how he overwhelmingly directed a major change in moving me to Taos. One repeated response by readers dealt with the rarity of such clear direction. Though seldom for many of us, it does happen. But my time in Taos ended in a radically opposite form. I’d spent a year in youth ministry a few years earlier, and upon getting fired, declared I’d rather…
Read MoreDeterminism?
We all face critical change points, events that significantly shape the rest of our lives. What puzzles me, though, is life determined for people of faith? Simplistically, some, like Calvinists, lean toward God choosing all. Arminians blend free will into the mix, and deists acknowledge that alt hough God created the world, he has little involvement in daily operations. For me, one of the three greatest change points came with my move to Taos NM in 1974. I’m absolutely clear that God
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