I spent many months searching for a word that shows how good can come from pain.I decided to look back in time, and it was there, in the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien, that I came across a word that to me is extremely special. It’s unique because Tolkien had to create the word to describe what he saw as central to the story of life.Eucatastrophe is a compounding of the word catastrophe with the Gre...  Read More

I have had doubts about what many have come to believe about hope. These doubts grew as I saw good people— people of integrity, faith, and optimism—go through storms like cancer, death, and family breakdowns.When we understand the good that adversity brings us, it causes us to lean into the difficulties of life.Be real, be authentic, and allow yourself to be human.Don’t put chemicals on the canvas...  Read More

Luke 2:41-52Now His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover.  And when He became twelve, they went up there according to the custom of the Feast; and as they were returning, after spending the full number of days, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. But His parents were unaware of it, but supposed Him to be in the caravan, and went a day's journey; and they began l...  Read More

One typical way of telling Job’s story is to say a man lost everything, had hope, and got back even more than he lost. I’ve come to resist this version of the story, though.It strikes me as almost callous to consider that as a story of victorious recovery. After all, what can replace the loss of ten children? Newer children?His children never came back to life. Job did not recover what mattered mo...  Read More

Water. Can you smell it? The salty spray of an ocean shoreline. The earthy aroma of a running brook. The humid air before a thunderstorm.To me, the scent of water is humble; it is neither over-powering nor obvious. In fact, it’s almost hidden in the neon array of sensory experiences that surround us. I guess that’s what makes it such an interesting metaphor for describing hope.Why describe one of ...  Read More

What if we could fundamentally reframe how we see life’s challenges?We have to get good at handling the bad.What if pain and problems were not our enemies? What if the challenges we face in life were also the same things that shape us, define us, and take us to a new and brighter future? Can good come from our catastrophes?It was through asking these questions that I was inspired by the story of a...  Read More

Jeremiah 29:4-13Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon, 'Build houses and live in them; and plant gardens and eat their produce.  Take wives and become the fathers of sons and daughters, and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, that they may bear sons and daughters; and multiply there and do n...  Read More

Saying “Hello” to a New Way of Living  When we step forward into new beginnings and yield to his will, on some level God is calling us to leave the comfort of the familiar. A spiritual adventure may contain few plateaus, leading us instead on rigorous treks filled with highs and lows or the heart-sinking dip of waiting for the rope to catch. But it’s a call to step out, to leave behind earthly con...  Read More

Saying “So Long” to Control of My Life  Much of life’s enjoyment relies on correct expectations. We battle our expectations of ourselves, and the expectations others place on us. And when we dig still deeper, we discover we’re even harboring expectations of God. These can make or break our spiritual lives. When God lives up to our expectations, we thrive spiritually. When he doesn’t, we are left d...  Read More

Saying “So Long” to My Comfort, Myself, and My IdentityWhen we say “so long” to our normal, sometimes we’re saying it to a home we had cherished, that was part of who we are. Sometimes it means saying “so long” to ourselves, or to who we see ourselves to be. This can be difficult, but also may be necessary to step into what God wants to do in our lives.  Leaving behind the places we’ve called home...  Read More

Understanding NormalSomething in us likes to create patterns in our days and stick to them. What is it about normal that feels so safe and comforting? Why do we crave it? The Bible says that we are created in God’s image (see Genesis 1:27). This longing that we have is a yearning to touch the infinite, to share in the Immortal’s eternal existence, to rest in Him. Normal feels so safe and comfortin...  Read More

1 John 5:14-21This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.  And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.  If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. Th...  Read More