Looking with Love

“Teacher," he responded, "I’ve kept all of these things since I was a boy."  Jesus looked at him carefully and loved him.  Mark 10:21, CEB

The other day, I took my car in for  repair at the dealership, and I soon discovered that I wasn't the only one needing work done at 8am on a Monday morning.  I poked my head into the customer waiting lounge, detected that most of the seating space was already occupied, and kept on walking to find a table by myself in the showroom.  Funn

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Not Fake News

"And their words seemed to them like idle tales, and they did not believe them." Luke 24:11, NKJV

When the calendar turned to April, I found myself duped by a few posts and headlines.  Some of us have grown accustomed to putting on our skeptic's hat on April 1st.  I, on the other hand, had to be reminded to do so as I read some surprising things on my friend's social media timeline online to discover he was pulling everyone's leg.  Later that same day, when I caught wind o

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A Living Hope

"...For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." Matthew 12:34, NKJV

A few weeks ago, my parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.  And it was awesome!  My siblings and I planned for nearly six months, and when family and friends gathered for the epic event, it was full of meaning and sweet memories.  We lingered in California for several days after, and my parents' celebration was perpetually the topic of conversation -- people we connected with, prog

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Forgiveness Goes Both Ways

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace. Ephesians 1:7

Have you ever made a decision you regretted? What did that cost you? I made a decision once with a friend and I was lucky that we walked away from it. I had a friend who came to visit the Island of Oahu where I grew up. She really wanted to go cliff jumping. This was something I had grown up doing and so we went to a pretty popular spot. I hadn

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How Long is a Rope?

Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:12

How long is a rope? What an interesting question. At face value there is no way to answer this question without more context. How long is a rope for belaying a rock climber? It's not the same length that you would want to tie down your boat. The question isn’t simply about the rope’s length. The question is about what it's needed for. This was the respo

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Speaking Life

Do not use harmful words, but only helpful words, the kind that build up and provide what is needed, so that what you say will do good to those who hear you.  Ephesians 4:29, GNT

It was my first year playing volleyball for the men's team at Pacific Union College.  I had overcome a lot of anxiety to even try out, but even though I had good friends on the team I often felt more pressure than joy when game time came around.  One game in particular was particularly difficult.  

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Principles of Health

Just this last week I went to the dentist. Many people have anxiety when it comes to the dentist. I am going to brag a little and tell on myself a little here. I’ve only ever had one cavity in my life and that one was so long ago I don't even remember it. Because of this I have found that my motivation to see the dentist is not very high. When Covid hit I didn’t keep up with my appointments, I moved twice and 5 years later I found myself neglecting my dental health. It was

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Heaven Came Down

Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That You would come down!...For since the beginning of the world Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear, Nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts for the one who waits for Him. Isaiah 64:1a, 4, NKJV

Early Sunday morning, our household was doing something out of the ordinary.  Awake much earlier than usual, we were tuned in to one of the last competitions of the Olympic games -- the gold medal mens ice hockey match between

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Kept for Jesus Christ

Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James, To those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ:  Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance. Jude 1:1-2

I recently found my box of memories that I had been keeping since I was a kid. I found letters from friends, toys I was gifted, foreign currency from trips I had been on and a bunch of other things. The box was filled with seemingly random things that all had a connection to

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Electrifying

I had the privilege of being a chaperone for the 3rd through 5th grade classes at MHA for their field trip to the Colorado Symphony this last Wednesday. If you were to see us get on the bus you would most likely ask yourself, “Why are they all dressed up?” If you are familiar with the symphony you would know that it is common practice to dress up. As we got into the concert hall and found our seats the room was bustling with the noise of hundreds of elementary students fro

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Heart Work

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you... Ezekiel 36:26-27a

This past Christmas, Debbie and I wanted to give one of our sons a new bike.  Through an unfortunate series of circumstances, his previous one was rendered completely unusable and had become an eyesore in our garage for months.  So before shopping for a good deal, our first step was

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The Privilege of United Prayer

They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. Acts 1:14, NIV

Something I love about united prayer is the opportunity it affords for "all" to come together.  Our 10 Days of Prayer experience a few weeks ago reminded me of this as I saw whole families participated in some of our group gatherings.  There were times when even my youngest lifted her voice in praise or petition, adding to the ongoing conve

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Wait for the Promise

And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father... Acts 1:4, NKJV

"I can't wait!"  It's an expression of enthusiasm and eagerness.  When we say it, we're not admitting a literal inability to wait, but we're giving voice to the difficulty of being patient until the fulfillment of whatever our expectation might be.  And that's just it.  Waiting isn't always welcomed.  Like the other night when o

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Search Me

O Lord, You have searched me and known me. Psalm 139:1, NKJV

How do you feel when someone in your life really knows and understands you?  I'm a relatively private person, which might sound strange coming from someone who fills a role that involves frequent public communication. But because my personality defaults to keeping my thoughts and feelings to myself, it's a pleasant surprise when someone truly understands me without extraordinary effort on my part to explain myself

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Inseparable

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Matthew 28:20

Time for a quick test of knowledge! What is the most isolated point on earth? I am not asking for the most isolated people, or land. I am asking about the most isolated point on our planet. Fun fact before giving you the answer; when the International space station passes above this place the people on the ISS are the closest human beings to it. Okay at this point you have either clicked out of the a

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