O LORD, rebuke me not in Your wrath, And chasten me not in Your burning anger. For Your arrows have sunk deep into me, And Your hand has pressed down on me. There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your indignation; There is no health in my bones because of my sin. For […]
Spiritual Boundaries, Part 1: Sacred Smallness, Real Life is Now.
(post #11) see list of all posts here Picture this, I’m 17 years old, and my tiny youth group has joined all the other Assemblies of God churches for a youth convention. The AG liturgy is followed perfectly. It’s an unspoken liturgy, because we consider it to be “the movement of the Holy Spirit” even […]
Contrite and Lowly: Sacred Smallness, Real Life Is Now
(post #9) see list of all posts here What does it mean to be contrite and lowly? How can a God who inhabits eternity also inhabit my heart? About 9 months ago I did a word study on Isaiah 57:15, because I was so struck by the description of a God who dwells in “a high and […]
Still The Loneliness Reeks
(post #6) see list of all posts here _________________ Where are you in this grid of stone quarried from what lies beneath the hills of Sonoma County? The Flying Goat boasts windows of sunlight, walls of minimalistic white, coffee roasted at $16 a pound, and still the scent of urine comes in its doors. Where […]
Grace Applied (More Thoughts on Boundaries): Real Life is Now
(post #5) see list of all posts here I’m combing through my draft folder tonight, and am surprised to find this post from two years ago that is in keeping with the theme already swimming in my mind: boundaries, perimeters. Here you go: It is a rainy 2 o’clock appointment, when the counselor and I crash against the concept […]
Boundaries in Parenting: Sacred Smallness, Real Life Is Now.
(post #3) see list of all posts here When our first son was about 18 months old, freshly weaned and newly a big brother, he started testing his autonomy. As a highly verbal child, he’d been counting to 10 and saying ABCs since his first birthday, adding simple sums such as “ one bus and […]
You are Seen. You are Known. You are Loved.
Being Seen, Being Known Few things matter to us like being seen, and being known. The elemental questions of our heart all echo these desires, as do the elemental fears. Nathanael is a man who knows what this means. Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is […]
The Day I Wake
He wraps himself in light as with a garment…He walks upon the wings of the wind. (Psalm 104) The day I wake I find you spoken in a thousand gleams of light all the material, all the weight you roll yourself and hide yourself and reveal yourself and the day I wake I pour myself […]
Becoming Abundant (survivor songs #30)
“Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted.” Matthew 5:4 (shall be comforted – paraklethesontai – God will come right alongside and will be with us.) _______________ _______________ The demands our griefs place on God will be satisfied. This is what strikes me as I consider the audacious phrase shall be comforted and the fullness […]
“Where Do We Go From Here? God Have Mercy” – a Marriage Startup Podcast with Leslie and Laura Camacho (survivor songs #27)
Today Laura Camacho joins up with her husband Leslie to offer a follow up to yesterday’s post (When Does Comfort Come, survivor songs #26). Leslie and Laura host a weekly broadcast called The Marriage Startup Podcast and today they are sharing a special edition of the podcast put together specifically for Survivor Songs. It is such an honor to host […]