A Pilgrim’s Odyssey

Enjoy the crackle! That is where the life is.

My family surprised me with a record player on Father's Day! What a joy, and what a rediscovery of crackle! The sound of the needle on the record as you anticipate the track being played. It seemed to herald life and authenticity. My kids who'd always listened to compressed digital music could instantly hear the difference.

There is crackle everywhere. It is life that isn't perfect or always neat, but has the grit of things that are real. Playing some old records reminding me that getting dirty and getting real is one of the best things you can do to keep your eyes on what is important in life. 

An Empowering Word On Fighting Racism

For years I volunteered in a local prison, speaking and teaching to primarily young black men from the inner city. While I thought we would have little in common, I learned that there was far more that united us, and any differences we had could be used to benefit the other. All my work today has been influenced and shaped by my experiences with those young men.

Today, I talk about what it means from my experience to fight racism and how I learned those lessons from those most impacted by it. Join me for a powerful, sobering, pro-active message.

Learning From The Curse of Domestic Violence

It can be the darkest secret, the thing that infects our body and soul and creates a vicious cycle of anger, it is domestic violence.

Yet, don't point fingers. Don't look at families devastated by abuse and think you are better than them. It comes from the same dark places your sin comes from, and just like abuse, your sins infect the ones you love too.

By struggling to stop the cycle of our demons, we are better able to help and respond to those caught up in the generational cycle of domestic abuse. 

How will they know our faith? By helping widows and orphans in distress, by purifying ourselves.

Who Is Raising Your Kids?

Is your life centered on raising your children? Or, is your life centered around work, driving, school, etc. There is a difference, and children know it. They grow up in one environment or the other.

To change our world, let's focus on what we should be doing. Growing our family, helping other families. Living with meaning and purpose, serving others and making life an adventure by just fighting the good fight.

Most importantly, we can't make a difference if we aren't truthful about how we have been raising our children.

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.