A Pilgrim’s Odyssey

Focusing Your Life On What Matters

Like it or not, those things you focus and center your life upon are who you are. More than anything, we need church and faith centered people willing to be a light to a darkening world. Take inventory today and make the commitment to making that your life.

Suffering Veterans and First Responders Are Still Suffering

It is easy to forget those who fought for us years ago and don't look like a fighter anymore. It is easy to forget those who face trauma everyday, out of sight as we go about our lives. But they are there, and the demons that haunt some of them don't take breaks.

As so much turmoil in society takes our focus, don't forget those who serve and sacrificed for us. They deserve it, and you might just find it's the thing you need to fill your own heart. Loving others is sometimes the first step to loving God and loving ourselves.

Stuck On A Ledge

I was a young boy, stuck on a cliff in the middle of a strange and mysterious park. I thought I would fall to my death until a voice inside told me to focus. I did, and it's a lesson I've carried with me my entire life.

It's also a lesson on when you focus, you make space for the things that matter - family, faith, and meaning. It doesn't always make sense, but when you take one step at a time focused on a clear goal and directed by the will of God, you end up where you need to be.

Healing A Broken Heart With A Fountain of Faith

I've struggled, probably like you have, when I've felt broken and couldn't make sense of my faith and what to do with my brokenness. It's an empty feeling.

Today we discuss a path to healing that ends with a true fountain of faith. Our guide, the 7th Century monk, Saint John Climacus. He wrote a book called The Ladder of Divine Ascent which is a guide for those aiming to climb the ladder that leads to a life consumed with God.

Poor in spirit is the beginning of the cure

The psychiatrist and author Scott Peck said in regards to much mental illness, 

“Rather than being the illness, the symptoms are the beginning of its cure. The fact they are unwanted makes them all the more a phenomena of grace.”

You see, broken and contrite means you are listening to the Grace of God, and you can heal and become what you were meant to be.

A poor spirit is where we begin to heal.

The Broken and Contrite Heart of Cumulative Trauma

Life is like an onion, a layer of experiences that make us who we are, yet sometimes the most important ones are hidden, buried deep.

The cumulative impact of trauma can lay bare a life of pain in one instance. We take a hit, then an old wound is exposed and we are too hurt to share it with anyone. We feel alone and go deeper down the hole.

To heal, we must face this darkness. As Carl Jung said, "One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious."

Don't be afraid, God loves a broken and contrite heart and so will the ones who truly care about you, and want to help you.

The day I burned down a graveyard, Almost

When I was about 10, I almost torched the graveyard of a small country church my dad was pastoring. I learned a valuable lesson on the dangers of fire and playing with gasoline. One my wife would tell me I've never fully learned!

I was thinking about this episode this Sunday as we celebrated Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit. This holy fire is one that can truly transform our lives, but it is also a warning on what happens if we don't. We become our own towers of babel, our own monument to self. And in this state, the fire we are most likely to get caught up in is the fire of the world.

The glory in our sufferings, using this time wisely

Allow this time to deepen your faith, increase the strength of your relationships, and show the world how the light of Christ can shine in a believer, and you will have something no measure of darkness or strife can take away.

Don't keep your light hidden, let it shine and engage your family, church, and community.

Making use of your time because the days are evil.

There is a power in being intentional. A simple list could be your vehicle to change. As the world spins out of control, what are you doing to prepare. Today, we continue our series on what is happening with our world on fire, what's next, why, and what to do about it!

Preparation– Love Your Enemies and Reveal Your Faith

We should be preparing - food, water, protection, communication, and most importantly, spiritually.

It's easy to become complacent when life is comfortable. Crisis can be an opportunity to dig deep and come out spiritually stronger and more alive.

This week we are discussing the fire going on around us - why it's happening, what's next, and what to do about. Today, we focus on preparation!