Mary, the mother of Jesus, is a well-loved, well-respected figure in Christian history. When I stare at a nativity scene, she and baby Jesus are often the first figures that capture my attention. But lately as I stare, I’ve caught my eyes drifting to the side a little bit, as I feel that same sense of gratefulness for Joseph. Joseph was...
If you know me, you know I love nativity sets. Our house is full of them. That’s probably because years ago, I mentioned this to my church, and we got an explosion of sets for Christmas! One of the things I love most about the nativity is its history. It originated in 1224, when St. Francis of Assisi prepared the first...
Years ago, when my kids were young, my wife and I had a date night to remember… and not in the best way. We were on our way to our favorite restaurant, excited for a night to ourselves, when all of a sudden a terrible stench filled the suburban. Now, at this point, we had four children ages 3 to 10,...
We live in a day where celebrity is celebrated. If you’re rich, beautiful, and powerful, it seems you’ve pretty much got life by the tail. Now, I’m certainly not suggesting that great achievement should not be celebrated. But I do believe that our focus on what is ‘great’ has gotten a bit off. We tend to focus on being great in...
Fusion is a state of joining two or more things together as one. It’s what happens when we take things with distinctly different material and combine them to create something beautiful. For instance, when we combine two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen, we get something that we all treasure very much-- H2O, or water. In the same way, God has...
Do you find yourself desiring more out of your relationships? More love? More peace? More fulfillment? If so, what you’re probably missing out on is unity. Building unity is a lot like the scientific process of fusion— combining two completely different elements into a new union. A proper pursuit of fusion in our relationships will not only bring us closer to...
In Romans 12:1, Paul urges us to act as “living sacrifices.” But the problem with a living sacrifice? It can crawl off the altar anytime! It’s human nature to find sin fascinating, until the day we wake up to it assassinating our lives. It’s easy to find sin thrilling, until it begins killing our relationships and dreams. God knows this, yet He...
Throughout the course of life, perspective on age changes quite a bit. When you’re sixteen, you feel invincible. When you’re eighteen, you want independence. When you’re thirty, you’re hoping to have made some kind of progress on your goals. Then, when you’re about forty, one word is usually at the front of your mind— legacy. You want to live a...
I’ve always been a fighter. Sometimes it’s my greatest weakness; other times, my greatest strength. But over the years, I’ve found that a choice to fight doesn’t guarantee that the cause I’m fighting for will be fulfilled. It’s when I fight right that the battle is won. That’s why Jesus said in Mark 10:34-35, “Do not suppose that I have come...
We see it on so many Instagram photos these days. A hashtag that lets people know, “Hey, I got the life I want.” That new car in the driveway of your new home, while your newborn is sleeping in your arms? #blessed. That’s not a bad thing… in fact I like seeing people enjoy life! When it concerns me is when...