What do you see when you approach a staircase? Me? I see a diabolical obstacle designed to keep me from reaching the other level. Of course I don’t believe the builder intended to frustrate me. I’m simply seeing the stairs through my personal biases. I know the creator of this sign meant well. I’m sure he didn’t […]
Continue readingWhat Did God Call That Tree?
“The Bible begins with the creation of a world and a garden, with the fashioning of humanity and two trees. One tree in the garden is strangely named the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Not “the tree of sin,” not “the tree of self-destruction”—the Bible writer gives us a lengthier, more descriptive […]
Continue readingHow To Escape A Drive-By Life
Teachers fight the temptation of a mile wide and an inch deep. We try to teach a curriculum that’s so broad, there’s no time for students to stop and think deeply. It becomes all about shortcuts and speed and pass the test and on to the next topic because we have to get it all covered. And […]
Continue readingWhose Dream Will You Follow?
I absolutely believe we’re wired to follow big dreams. However, I don’t buy the sappy notion “if you believe it you can achieve it.” I’ve said before that Jiminy Cricket’s advice to Pinocchio to wish upon a star made for a great song, but I’m not seeking wisdom from a bug. In Genesis 12, Abram […]
Continue readingBest
HAPPY MONDAY! A great group discussion got me thinking about two sides of today’s word-of-the-week… BEST I tossed out my idea that life doesn’t have to be a competition. In a group of men, I knew there’d be pushback. “Without competition, what’s the incentive to improve? Competition is just the way we’re wired. Everyone wants […]
Continue readingFigure It Out As You Go
Imagine learning to ride a bike while sitting still. Seems like it would be the safe way to begin, right? No risk from crashing into obstacles, wouldn’t need to steer, no worries about brakes or pedals. You could just concentrate on one skill, and after you mastered the whole balancing thing you could move on […]
Continue readingAbram Left Home
A really smart leader once told a class, “If you want to make sense of scripture, THINK HEBREW.” He wanted us to remember that scripture was written to an audience in a context. We understand scripture when we put ourselves in the sandals of those to whom it was originally written. When we immediately imagine […]
Continue readingThe High Cost Of Cheap
I spend a lot of time thinking about bike tours. More accurately–I spend a lot of time thinking about how to get you involved in FRONT RANGE FREEDOM TOUR. Not because it’ll help me, but because I sincerely believe becoming part of this community might be a life-changing experience for you and because together we […]
Continue readingJustice And Love
“Justice is what love looks like in public. “Justice that is only justice soon degenerates into something less than justice. Justice must be rescued by something deeper…and yes, that something is love.” Dr. Cornell West I highly recommend listening to Dr. West’s thought-provoking keynote address at The Trinity Institute’s CREATING COMMON GOOD conference. Please leave a […]
Continue readingI Don’t Care?
Last week a friend published a poem. He prefaced it with a disclaimer: “I don’t care whether you like it or not.” I thought it sort of sad that he felt the need to include that statement. Frankly, I didn’t believe him. We don’t write or paint or do any sort of art to please […]
Continue readingLet Go
“No, really…how do you stop worrying?” That’s basically the response when I offered a one-trick answer to an impossible question. “That dream stuff sounds all good and everything, but what happens in the REAL world?” Well, I don’t think following Jesus is idealistic or unrealistic. I do believe He offered practical, real-world guidance, but that […]
Continue readingNothing (Repost)
Happy Monday! Okay, it’s a little weird, but for today’s word-of-the-week I’m thinking about NOTHING “Nothing” is an odd word. How can you write a blog post about nothing? You can play interesting word games with “nothing.” For example: A crust of bread is better than nothing, and nothing is better than a big, juicy […]
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