I have been noticing lately that the pace around our church is ... well, picking up! Last night, after a full day's work, I arrived home out of breath, a bit frantic, wound up, anxious to get to the next day so I could plow my way through my to-do list in the hopes of […]

We are told that if we seek God with all our heart, God will be found. (Jeremiah 29:13) This is a beautiful image - the human soul desiring God and seeking after him with all that is within us. And God, we are promised, wants to be found, and even promises to be found. A […]

I often hear the argument, "I am not the kind of person who engages in spiritual practices," or "I am too busy engaging in ministry and serving others for things like prayer, reflection on Scripture or prayers of examen." I sympathize with these arguments and I struggle with them as well. However, I still argue […]

Mark Buchanan is one of my favorite writers and thinkers. He is a pastor from Canada and often writes brilliant one-liners that say more than an entire paragraph! Here is one I've been pondering this entire summer: "Endless busyness is earwax against God's voice and a blindfold to God's presence." So many of us wonder […]

One idea that has helped me with prayer more than almost any other comes from a Norwegian Christian named Ole Hallesby. In his classic book, simply called Prayer, I first encountered this idea: "Prayer is simply helplessness combined with faith." Hallesby says more to help us understand this simple, yet profound truth: "Prayer and helplessness […]

I have been noticing lately that I am much more distracted than normal. My mind seems to wander in ways that it never used to. I am having a harder time focusing on one thing for an extended period of time. And I am fairly confident this has nothing to do with turning 50 this […]