Listening to Their Conversations

Listening to Their Conversations

Do you like to “listen in” as people around you talk? Maybe they’re at a table beside you in a restaurant. Maybe they’re in seats near you at a ball game. Maybe they’re in line before you at the grocery store. You won’t interrupt them. You...
The Number 12

The Number 12

What’s your favorite number? When did you select that number? Why is it your favorite? The number twelve has never been my favorite number. I’ve preferred eleven. Or one. Or ten. Or thirty-three. But now my mind is on number twelve. Why? My twelth book will be...
Think About It

Think About It

From Pause for Pastors: Finding Still Waters in the Storm of Ministry. Think about your struggles and your successes. Think about your strengths and your weaknesses. Think about your victories and defeats. Think about Jesus entering a dialogue with you and healing you...
The Plans and the Surprises

The Plans and the Surprises

From the book Pause for Pastors: Finding Still Waters in the Storm of Ministry. I’m typing these words after an interesting day. I spent the morning—and the last few days—in a denomination’s conference where leaders were elected and policies were presented. Honesty, I...
A Life of Seasons

A Life of Seasons

From the book Pause for Moms: Finding Rest in a too Busy World. When the days are so hot and long, and the sun so bright, we dream of winter. Glancing forward, we miss the now. When we freeze waking up and going to sleep, and the ice covers the roads, we dream of...
You

You

From the book Pause for Moms: Finding Rest in a too Busy World. You are you—no one else can be you. You are you—created in the image of God. You are you—still growing and being transformed as an apprentice of Christ. You are you—while learning from others, you aren’t...
Words for Ministers

Words for Ministers

From the book Pause for Pastors: Finding Still Waters in the Storm of Ministry. Ministry is a strange collection of nouns and verbs. The people and places and things. The action. The dates and events and performances. The action. The buildings and songs and lights....
Living With Joy

Living With Joy

From the book Equilibrium: 31 Ways to Stay Balanced on Life’s Uneven Surfaces.  I want to be a person living with joy amid the mysteries of life. I desire to be joyful in hope.  I know this isn’t easy.  It isn’t easy for me.  But my friend David...
Questions

Questions

These are questions included in various places in the book Equilibrium: 31 Ways to Stay Balanced on Life’s Uneven Surfaces. Why are you in such a hurry? What keeps you from resting and enjoying each moment? What are you hoping to prove? How can you change that...