Scrambled Eggs & Corn Flakes

One of the things I struggle with in getting involved is that I have the habit of looking at myself in comparison to others. I see others who are much more gifted than I, and it causes me to hold back. I make excuses. That I am not the best speaker, that I don't know enough, my prayers aren't the best or I am not comfortable praying for others. If we spend too much time comparing ourselves to others, we will find many excuses as to why we wont get involved in ministries. There's many reasons we can find. Why we can't do something as opposed to why we can. Are we fearful? Uncertain? Afraid of making mistakes? Worried that we will push people away from God because of our errors? The truth is that we will not always get it right. We will blunder and make errors in judgment. These are not excuses to prevent us, but rather the blunt reality of life. One can go through the bible and find people who weren't the best or had dubious qualities. Yet, God had no problems work...

Hard to believe that it has been one year this week since I got on the plane with our missions team and went to India. Doesn't feel like it has been that long. The long flight, going to conferences, praying for people, making new friends on the team and in India, and the Taj Mahal are memories that feel like yesterday. And, one mustn't forget all the good food. Butter chicken and Tandoori chicken. All the naan and Afghani chicken. One thing is true. The food there was awesome. Looking back on the trip, the only main regret I have is that it took me a few days to get my bearings straight. I wasn't as involved as I should have been. Funny, that I trusted God to get me there and once He did, started worrying about home and everything. Chalk it up to a new experience, lots of nervousness, and being task driven that I was not as social as I could have been. I think one person on the team noticed, not sure. When we got to Dehradun, I lay on the bed and cried out "God, why ...

The heart is a fragile object. It can easily be scarred, broken, and shattered. People can be very protective of giving their heart and when they do it needs to be treated as a rare jewel. Something to be honored and protected. I am a person who is very protective of revealing my emotions and inner thoughts to others. Never wanted people to get too close to me in the chance they could hurt me. It takes me a while to warm up to someone, but once I do, I become a very loyal friend (sometimes even to my detriment). There's very little I wont do for my friends. Still, even today, I can be wary and distrustful of putting myself out there. (I do in my blogs, but there is a safety being mostly anonymous behind a computer screen) None of us wants to get hurt. Especially by those we give our hearts to. That kind of hurt may actually be the most painful. Getting wounded by those you intimately trust. When we got married, Susan and I gave our hearts to each other to protect. This means ou...

"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved" Ephesians 2: 4-5 Since I started writing and blogging a few years ago, I have experienced several dry spells. There are times where I go several weeks in between writing journal entries. Writer's block they call it. When ideas are scarce and motivation seems lost. Or, I just cant take the ideas in my head and translate them coherently to paper. Those times can be extremely frustrating. No amount of time, effort, and even praying results in generating ideas. We can run into those kinds of dry spells in our walks of faith. Those times when God feels so distant from us. When it is difficult to pray and/or study the scriptures. We become dry and parched - slowly dying inside. Think of dry areas. What images and words do you think of? They're never really pleasant places in our minds. Brown grass, oppr...

When the weight of the world crashes down around us - Lord, we need you. Where the heart is wounded and hope is not found - Lord, we need you. On the days where we feel triumph and success - Lord, we need you. When our enemies gather round us - Lord, we need you. In the company of our friends and family - Lord, we need you. At the time, when our strength fails - Lord, we need you. When darkness surrounds us and fear grips our souls - Lord, we need you. On that wedding day or the birth of our child - Lord, we need you. In the midst of our worship - Lord, we need you. Thinking of days past and fond memories - Lord, we need you. During our pains and sufferings - Lord, we need you. While we dream of our future and the plans we look forward to - Lord, we need you. To the times we mourn and feel that we can no longer go on - Lord, we need you. When we celebrate all the joys in our life - Lord, we need you. When we have lost our way and our path has become lost - Lord, we need ...