Last week we were blessed to join our friends Ed and Judy Underwood in Southern California. On Monday morning we left bright and early for breakfast at Crystal Cove Beach. The navigation app directed driver Ed to take a different course from the norm. We debated briefly and then decided to follow the GPS directions. “Probably a traffic accident on the normal route,” I offered. “The satellites have access to the big picture and we don’t.” Almost immediately it hit me that I am willing to trust a satellite navigation system but I often question if God’s direction is best for me. When God asks me through His Word to take a path that is counter-intuitive to my normal path my first instinct is to question the course. For example, if someone criticizes me unfairly the normal road taken is to defend myself and fight back. God’s navigation system suggests a very different road.  “But to you who are willing
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My heart has been deeply saddened by the racial tension that has surfaced in recent months. Like many white Americans I rationalized that I was not a part of the problem. Three friends have been helping me to see another side. My eyes began to be opened by my friend Kevin Butcher. Kevin is a white pastor to a predominately black congregation at Hope Community Church in Detroit. He told me that Black Christians want their White brothers and sisters to listen to their hearts and not offer excuses or rationales. They simply want to be heard. So I decided to do just that by seeking to hear the hearts of two Black brothers in Christ. I know Duke Barnett well. He is an amazingly talented educator, administrator and leader. He is a great husband, dad and friend. The other man I asked to share his heart is a pastor in Nashville, Tennessee. I became friend with Montagne McDonald through
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Being in community with others means you share in their joys and their sorrows. Sometimes the sorrows come in tsunami waves and all you can do is care, pray and be present. Good and decent people deal with financial, emotional and physical suffering all around us and it is easy to lose heart. The news seems to be only tragedy and heartbreaking sadness. What can be redeemed of all of this suffering? A song called “The Hurt and the Healer” by MercyMe resonated when I first heard it but now that same song ministers much deeper in my soul recently. Why? The question that is never far away The healing doesn’t come from the explained Jesus please don’t let this go in vain I can’t explain why things happen. Sometimes it is sin. Sometimes it is simply life. I have learned in my years of following Jesus that He does not let suffering go in vain. I have seen over
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Another sad Monday in our country and the world. I don’t want to just sit in paralyzed sorrow. I want to be a part of the solution. I am amazed at the power of music and lyric to move my heart and soul. Today a tune from Casting Crowns touched my heart. One or two lyrical thoughts can have more impact than a beautifully written article or book. The song “Jesus, Friend of Sinners” has a number of those powerful lyrics. Jesus Friend of sinners we have strayed so far away We cut down people in your name but the sword was never ours to swing Ouch. How much damage has been done in the name of Christ by well-meaning or by just mean churchgoers? The toll is heartbreaking. Truly that sword was never ours to wield. The next few lines are just as powerful. Jesus friend of sinners the truth’s become so hard to see The world is on
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The events in my adopted home state of Texas have been heartbreaking. But I have never been more proud to be an adopted Texan. The response of our police officers and those who were peacefully expressing their views were both extraordinary. The response of the community did not surprise me. Contrary to some national stereotypes, Dallas is a truly good place with all of the flaws of a major city but with something in her heart that gives me hope for healing. Pastor TD Jakes voiced a powerful prayer at Thanksgiving Square near the site of the horror. “We are being tested down to the core. Not just to see – can we survive the atrocities that have confronted us last night, but to see if we will rebound and reinvigorate ourselves in such a way that we come up a better city than we were before. What we faced in Dallas did not start in Dallas. It is a
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I love the Fourth of July. My beloved and I had our first unofficial “date” on an Independence Day celebration in Fort Collins, Colorado many, many years ago. A song from Five for Fighting  called “Freedom Never Cries” is timely for this holiday. Writer/singer John Ondrasik has become one of my favorites. Ondrasik writes personal and powerful songs that resonate with me. “Freedom Never Cries” is a song about how we take freedom for granted. Ondrasik talked about the song in an interview posted at liveDaily. It was definitely a statement song that has a point of view. I think it kind of speaks to the fact that, I know at least for myself, we tend to only appreciate things when we need them. The chorus of that song says “I never loved the soldier until there was a war / Or thought about tomorrow ’til my baby hit the floor.” I know I never started thinking about my future until I had my
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Singer Dan Fogelberg was also one of my favorite songwriters. The song that I remember most is a song written about his dad called “Leader of the Band”. His father was a musician and he passed that talent down to Dan. Parts of the lyric made me think of my Dad in his final years.. The leader of the band is tired and his eyes are growing old But his blood runs through my instrument and his song is in my soul I thank you for the music and your stories of the road I thank you for the freedom when it came my time to go I thank you for the kindness and the times when you got tough And, papa, I don’t think I said ‘I love you’ near enough My Dad knew how much I loved him. Still I wish I had told him more. But this is the portion of the song that continues to impact me
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