Be With ...
Some time ago, I was walking through a park and noticed the different ways mothers connected with their toddlers as they walked and strolled together.
Some moms had a coffee cup in one hand and their child in tow. Their eyes were a little glazed over, and their minds seemed to be somewhere else. They were physically with their child, but in that moment, they weren’t really with anyone.
Other mothers were completely focused on their children—talking, asking questions, pointing things out, changing their tone of voice, and creating one experience after another. These were moms on steroids! They were definitely WITH their children.
It made me wonder: What kind of connector am I?
We all connect with people differently, and even the way we connect can change from one moment to the next. Sometimes we are passive and somewhat disconnected from the people around us. Other times, we may move in so closely that there isn’t much room left for the other person to breathe—emotionally, psycholog...
How Far? How Fast? How’s Your Form?
These are the kinds of questions we tend to ask each other—sometimes out loud and sometimes without even realizing it.
If you’re a runner, people may want to know: How far do you run? How fast can you run a mile? And if they’re really interested, they may even want to know how your form looks.
But those questions aren’t just about running. In one way or another, we ask them about almost everything.
How far? How long have you been at your job? How old are you? How much have you accomplished?
How fast? How quickly did you get there? How much do you make? How busy are you? How much can you handle?
And then there’s form: How well are you actually doing what you’re doing? What does it look like? How are you doing it?
We can easily find a sense of personal glory in the first two questions:
How far? How long? How old?
How fast? How much? How strong? How busy?
We tend to measure ourselves—and sometimes one another—by our accomplishments, our productivity, our longevity, and our capacity...
"Stop Running"
We often wake up to an alarm. (Not exactly the most peaceful, inspiring way to begin the day, is it?) And then we spend the rest of the day trying to keep up with everything we’re “supposed” to do.
We run and run, but somehow we never feel like we’re gaining much ground.
Many of us live in an almost constant state of exhaustion—some days more than others. Is it physical? Maybe. Is it mental? Absolutely. Who isn’t carrying a head full of thoughts, problems, decisions, and ideas? Is it emotional? Yes. Who isn’t experiencing some degree of stress these days? And is it spiritual?
Most definitely.
Our exhaustion may have a deeper spiritual root than we realize—and it’s something we need to take seriously and address intentionally. Jesus warned about “the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things” that can choke out the life of the spiritual seed growing within us (Mark 4:18).
Busyness and exhaustion, left unaddressed, eventually take a toll on u...
Are You a Delight or a Drag?
Have you ever noticed that some people leave you feeling energized, while others leave you feeling drained?
Most of us enjoy being around people who refresh us. They encourage us, challenge us in healthy ways, and somehow leave us with more hope than we had before. On the other hand, we've all been around people who seem to sap our emotional, physical, or spiritual strength. If we're honest, we've probably gone out of our way to avoid them from time to time.
That raises an important question:
Which kind of person are you becoming?
Are you becoming someone who refreshes others, or someone who unintentionally weighs them down?
Being a delight to others doesn't begin with trying harder to be nice. It begins by being regularly refreshed by the Lord. He alone is the source of real life. Jesus said, "Whoever believes in me...streams of living water will flow from within them" (John 7:38).
As we spend time with Him and respond to the Holy Spirit in faith, His life begins to overflow int...
How Wealthy Are You Really?
Some cities are known for their "new money"—places like Houston, where much of the wealth has been created in recent generations. Others are known for "old money"—places like Boston, where wealth has often been passed down through families for generations.
People tend to approach money differently as well. Some are excellent at saving and investing what they already have. Others are especially gifted at creating new wealth.
The Kingdom of God invites us to think about wealth in a completely different way. Our greatest riches aren't found in bank accounts, but in people and relationships.
Even so, the idea of "new money" and "old money" still applies.
Some people are relationally poor because they have very few meaningful relationships. Others do a wonderful job of preserving and deepening long-standing friendships but rarely invest in new ones. Still others love meeting new people and quickly form new connections, yet struggle to maintain the friendships they've had for years.
A f...
What Is Really Going On Around Here?
Sometimes I realize I'm only skimming the surface of life.
I do what I can, what I should, what I ought to, and what I want to do each day. I try to take care of what's in front of me each week. Then the next week begins, and the cycle starts all over again.
The weeks become months, the months become years, and one day I find myself sitting at my computer wondering, Where did the time go?
But is life really about making it through another day, week, or month?
Of course not.
God is always at work—in us, around us, and through us. He is constantly inviting us to notice what He's doing, to understand His purposes, and to join Him in them. He doesn't simply want life to happen to us; He wants us to experience the life He is creating through us.
As we seek first His Kingdom, God gradually opens our eyes to what's really happening beneath the surface. We begin to recognize His fingerprints in our circumstances, our relationships, and even our struggles.
Jesus told His disciples that H...
The Dependence That Leads to Strength
We all enter the world completely dependent on someone else. As newborns, we depend on our mothers (or whoever is caring for us) for everything.
As we grow up, our goal becomes independence. We learn to stand on our own two feet, make our own decisions, and take responsibility for our lives.
Then, as adults, we discover that we accomplish far more through interdependence. Healthy relationships, teamwork, and shared strengths enable us to do things we could never do alone.
But here's something we don't hear very often:
To become spiritually whole and healthy, we actually need all three.
We need to take responsibility for our own lives. We need meaningful relationships with others. And, most importantly, we need to remain deeply dependent on God.
That raises an important question: Why is dependence on God so necessary? Couldn't we simply learn what He wants us to do and then go do it?
Jesus answered that question very clearly:
"Apart from Me you can do nothing." (John 15:5)
With...
Are You Still Growing?
One of the marks of a healthy child is growth. We expect children to change, develop, and mature as the years go by.
But have you ever stopped to think that God designed us to keep growing for our entire lives?
Our growth may look different in each season, but it should never come to a standstill. Some kinds of growth happen almost effortlessly, while others require intentionality, discipline, and a willingness to cooperate with God's work in our lives. (Growing around the middle, for example, usually doesn't require much effort—but that's probably not the kind of growth we're after!)
So let me ask you a few questions.
Are you still growing?
Can you point to ways you've changed over the past year? Are you becoming more like Christ? Or do you feel as though you've plateaued?
And are you growing in a balanced way? Sometimes we pour all of our energy into one area of life while neglecting the others. If your spouse, your children, or your closest friends were asked whether your life...
The Gift of Spiritual Disciplines
What comes to mind when you hear the phrase spiritual disciplines?
For many people, the words can trigger thoughts of religious duty, striving, or obligation. Some may not be able to name many spiritual disciplines, yet they immediately feel guilt, boredom, dryness, or weariness when the topic comes up. Perhaps it's the word discipline itself that creates resistance.
But what if we've misunderstood these practices?
Spiritual disciplines are not meant to be burdensome obligations. They are gifts—practical ways of drawing near to God and experiencing His grace. Think of them as pathways that help direct our attention toward Him. They don't create God's presence, but they help us become more aware of it.
Many believers have found practices such as Bible reading, study, and meditation helpful for focusing their hearts on God. Others connect deeply through prayer—whether through silence, stillness, solitude, listening, or honest conversation with Him. Reflection and self-examination can...
The Quiet Power of Humility
As people grow older, they often begin to "soften" in more ways than one. Perhaps most importantly, many develop softer hearts. The passing decades have a way of humbling us. We become more aware of our limitations, less certain of ourselves, and more appreciative of others.
Our culture often views this softening with suspicion. Is it genuine humility, or is it simply a loss of drive, conviction, or backbone? And even when humility is recognized, it is rarely celebrated. The public square tends to reward confidence, self-promotion, and independence far more than meekness and humility.
God's economy, however, is very different.
Both James, the brother of Jesus, and Peter, one of His closest followers, wrote:
"God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble." (James 4:6; 1 Peter 5:5)
That's a sobering statement. God opposes pride because pride ultimately opposes Him.
Scripture tells us that the proud do not seek God and make no room for Him in their thoughts (Psalm 10:4). If fa...
