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Encouragement Living in the Mundane

 Lately I've noticed that people are a bit on edge, a bit irritable, a bit sad, a bit off. Sometimes, when I examine my own heart, I am one of these people. Perhaps it's the let down after Christmas, perhaps it's all the grey days we had in January, perhaps its all the time spent inside. I don't know. But I do know many people have been feeling down and overwhelmed and weary.  Perhaps it's just the day-in, day-out reality of waking up, vacuuming, going to work, feeding the children, exercising, taking the garbage out, school, church, and the small, unpleasant interruptions along the way. The co-workers swearing as they tell their story, the child who does not listen and need correction again, the dishes that are never done, the school readings that are always awaiting you.  We must rid ourselves of the delusion that it is major events which most determine a person. He is more deeply and lastingly influenced by the tiny catastrophes of which everyday existence is mad
Recent posts

Being Single is Kind of Like Not Sleeping Through the Night

For as long as you can remember, you have been told that normal people sleep through the night. You've been trained to sleep through the night. The vast majority of your friends sleep through the night. Your entire family sleeps through the night. Everyone at church sleeps through the night. But you don't.  At first, a number of years ago, you were really frustrated about not sleeping through the night, and the frustration was compounded by people consistently asking questions as to your ability to sleep. Have you tried medication? Have you turned all your screens off before bed? Do you exercise? Do you drink caffeine in the afternoon? The fact of the matter is, you do all the things you're supposed to do, but you still wake up in the middle of the night, for apparently no reason.  You're confused and frustrated, so you pray. The next night, when it happens again, you pray. Soon, waking up in the night has changed from a time of frustration to a time of worship and gett

Seeing the Good

 A couple weeks ago I spoke a story on Instagram that received mixed reviews. I was talking about all the happy reels that people had posted, summing up their 2023. Birthdays, weddings, ultrasounds, babies, vacations, all the things. And I said that if you had posted a happy reel that was great, I'm glad you had a good 2023, but I just wanted to say a few things to the people who didn't post a happy reel because they did not have a happy 2023. For some people 2023 was incredibly hard. Then I talked about Psalm 136. You know that one. The refrain goes "for His mercy endures forever."  Here's a brief summery of the mixed responses. The people who had a difficult 2023 messaged me saying "thank you for giving voice to our feelings." The people who had a great 2023 responded that its fine to post about one's own happiness even if other people had a difficult time. And you know what, they're both right and maybe I'll talk about that in later blog p

The Gospel Is About More Than Just You

The gospel is amazing. We are sinners, and our sin separates us from God. In our natural state, the Bible calls us dead (Ephesians 2), in the domain of darkness (Colossians 1) and enemies of God (Romans 8). But God doesn't leave us that way. Jesus came to the world as the God-Man, lived a perfect life as a substitute for our sinful life, died on the cross, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father, interceding for us.  The gospel.  But salvation is not the end of the Christian story. Salvation is not, fundamentally, about getting into Heaven when we die, but about living in relationship with God as we were created to do. Jesus has broken down the dividing wall of hostility (Ephesians 2) and has transferred us from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of light (Colossians 1), so that we can live each day with God.  For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desi

Maybe It's Supposed to Be Hard

We want a whole, happy, calm life. We want to be healthy. In "crunchie" circles, people use essential oils, grow their own produce, and stop using plastics. In Christian circles, there is an idea, an ideology, gaining ground that presupposes a holistic, restful life is possible if one follows the spiritual disciplines of the desert fathers and mothers. Mysticism. Prayer, scripture, silence, solitude, sabbath, fasting, rest, etc. (If you're looking for a couple interesting reads on this topic you could see these books by Jefferson Bethke and John Mark Comer. ) I want a holistic, happy, balanced life. My kitchen contains wooden cutting boards and loose leaf tea. I begin all my mornings with homemade kombucha, prayer, quiet, and scripture. I do Pilates throughout the week and hold the Lord's Day as holy every Sunday.  And I'm tired. And I'm weary.  And I wonder if that's just how it is in this sin-soaked world as we run to Heaven.  After all, the Spirit tell

God Who Sees (poem)

 "I love the LORD, because He hears my voice and my supplications. Because He has inclined His ear to me, therefore I shall call upon Him as long as I live." Psalm 116:1-2 NASB How can it be, that the God Who rules on high,  Who commands kings and kingdoms, also hears my cries?   This Maker, great and holy, rules through all eternity, The Captain of Angel Armies, Inclines His ear to me.   He knows my self, containing of dust and soul and sin. I have found distress and sorrow, I call to Him. Amazingly, with hearing ear, He gives heed to me, Whether I cry aloud or moan in mind, I know He sees.   Quiet, my soul, be quiet, and rest in God who never lies, I shall walk before the Lord, And on His strength rely.   What shall I render to the Lord, for all He gives to me? I lift my voice in thankfulness, To the God Who sees.  What I'm Reading  Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor by D.A. Carson. This is our book club book this month.  Andrew Bonar's commentary on Leviticus   What I&

Why Am I Here?

 Life is full of ups and downs. One day you love your job, the next day you come home and eat a tub of ice cream. One day you're thriving as a mom, the next hiding in the bathroom while those mini-yous watch TV. Life is unsteady, and emotionally we are unsteady. Contentment in your place, whether its the life you dreamed of or not, can be a hard fight for self-control and joy. How many of us have asked the question why am I even here??  Probably everyone if they've lived long enough.  We may not be asking why am I here? as in, why do I exist in this world? rather, we may be asking why am I here? as in, why am I in this house, at this job, at this collage, at this church, living in this town? The latter are questions that I ask. Sometimes, when I listen to the way I feel, I feel that this home, this job, this church, this town are all a bit much, a little too hard, a little pointless, so why am I here anyway? Last week I finished reading the New Testament and circled back to rea