This piece was written for the October issue of the Lee Creek Baptist Church newsletter, Grace & Peace. One clear morning in September, I sat near a lakeside reading Psalm 84 while a pair of birds darted in and out of my vision. They chased each other like children between trees and bushes before disappearing … Continue reading A Sparrow at the Altar
On Waiting, Hunting, & Courtship “Come back and see us,” she said. “We’ll be here.” And as we turned in our coats to go, she caught me once more: “And enjoy yourselves. Have fun.” This was just after she’d said she was bored of bingo, and couldn’t they offer more activities for the long, dark … Continue reading Late In Time
I've learned he is not like the moon, thumb-printed by shadow one night, then full and yellow as a harvest, then gone altogether on the thirteenth of November. He himself cannot be tempted or tilted or touched by the shadows cast by something bigger, because he himself is that Sun, and we are the thing … Continue reading Equinox
I read the Cape Cod Times during breakfast Monday morning, and the story was about a man who got swallowed by a humpback whale on June 11, 2021. He was lobster diving off Herring Cove Beach at 8 A.M. when something like a freight train hammered him and everything went black. He felt himself surging … Continue reading Lord of the Seas
November 22 My family huddled around our TV last Sunday night to watch a rocket fire its way into space. NASA livestreamed the SpaceX Dragon flight, and I watched with a slack jaw as humans hurtled through the atmosphere, leaving Earth behind at over 17,000 miles per hour, and sailed into the most unknown, uncharted … Continue reading A Small, Small Whisper
November 8 I’m writing this at 7:30 on Tuesday morning. The polls have only been open for an hour, and I can’t try to guess what things will look like by the time you read this on Sunday. But I do know Sunday’s sun will rise on a new leader— elected or reelected. And Sunday’s … Continue reading King of This Tuesday in November
October 11 These days, we need something worth rejoicing in that won't come down with COVID or lose an election or go out of style. We need something chiseled in stone that, when the world starts dissolving, we can stand on and say, "This will never die or lose or fade!" I've always pictured the … Continue reading The Book of Stone
Have you ever tried to fit some of the ocean into your hand? How about all of it? Can you measure the sky in miles? Can you weigh the Rocky Mountains? Could you even put the Ozark hills on a scale? Do you tell God’s Spirit where to go or what to do? Does God … Continue reading I’m Glad I Can’t Hold the Ocean
August 2 Before he was betrayed and driven to the cross, Jesus spent time praying for you. “I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world, but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.” “Holy Father, keep them in your name…” “While I was with them, I kept … Continue reading Be Encouraged: You Are Kept
March 22 Today’s been strange. I didn’t go to church, didn’t talk to my friends or take notes or play on worship team. I didn’t leave my house. I’m tired of hearing about the coronavirus, but it isn’t something I can ignore. Or should. But that also doesn’t make it my focus. God is. And … Continue reading Two Reasons to Thank God Today
