Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer ... Romans 12:2There seems to be so much about these 3 fruits of the Spirit ... joy, patience and faithfulness ... that is about choice.  "Choose this day whom you will serve."  "So Lord, give me a desire to choose what is best for your Kingdom,Continue reading "Choosing the fruit of the Spirit"

My poor mom is now in her 21st day in the head injury unit at the Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City, IA.  Given every thing she has gone through (see my post from 5/15), she is both amazing and strong.  The closest she's come  to complaining has been to say, "Golly, how in the worldContinue reading "My dear mother…"

In Memoriam Darrel Allen "DA" FollisJanuary 1, 1928-May 13, 2009-----Born in rural northwestern Kansas ... lived his whole life there ... lived on 7 different farms growing up, where his father (my grandfather) worked as a tenant farmer ... sergeant in the infantry in the Korean Conflict (honorably discharged) ... Married to Patricia Jennings for 57 yearsContinue reading "In Memory of my Dad"

I overheard a guy at Subway talking about how he wanted to be the captain of his own ship.  He was spelling out to the fellow across the table from him how his whole new business venture would work.  It sounded pretty peaches and cream to me minus the pain or sacrifice.  Finally, I heard himContinue reading "Becoming the captain of your very own ship"

The experience with weakness ... as I get older and especially now as I see my parents frail health ... hits hard.  So very hard.  But it does link me with Jesus. "Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested."  Hebrews 2:18"This HighContinue reading "How does Jesus feel about weakness?"

A couple of more thoughts from Andrew Marin and his winsome, stimulating new book by InterVarsity Press ... Love is an Orientation (IVP, 2009) ...  He argues throughout the book that our words and phrases, especially when interacting with the GLBT community, really do matter."Christians too easily lose sight of the fact that not everyone takesContinue reading "The words you use really do matter…"

The focal point of GLBT/Christian relations, according to Andrew Marin in his terrific new book Love is an Orientation (IVP, 2009), is irrevocably linked to a set of questions that both communities not only ask each other, but have already each assigned to their own right answers.1.  Do you think that gays and lesbians areContinue reading "Reframing the questions as a move to facilitate sustaining the relationship"

Andrew Marin's Love is an Orientation ... Elevating the Conversation with the Gay Community (IVP, 2009) deals with intelligently, humanly and biblically with the gay community like no writer on this issue I've ever read before.  It's a bold read.When three of Marin's best friends came out to him, the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) community suddenlyContinue reading "Love is an Orientation … A terrific new book"