As part of a six-week course I am doing, I was asked to take a test to discover which emotions most strongly drive me. When the results came back, they stopped me in my tracks. The two emotions that rose above all others were empathy and compassion. They surprised me. Not because I have thought…
Tag: prayer
The Gift of Lament
There is something deeply human and deeply biblical about lament. The Psalms have taught me that faith is not made up only of praise and singing, but also of sighing, longing, questioning, and bringing our sorrows honestly before God. They do not ask us to tidy ourselves up before we come. They do not pretend…
The Beauty of Advent
There is something about Advent that reaches into me very deeply. Every year, when it comes around again, I feel it before I can properly explain it. It comes quietly, like a soft stillness settling over my soul, like the first pale light of morning slipping through the dark. And in that quietness, I feel…
We Call on Him
For a number of years, Peter and I shared a quiet ritual with our dear friends, Stephen and his late wife Wendy. We each brought a song — something that spoke to us in that season of life — and took turns playing them, sitting together in conversation, letting the lyrics lead us to places…
Hope
Have you ever wondered why, in the very worst moments of human history, hope so often seems to rise most clearly? It is one of life’s great mysteries. In the midst of war, natural disasters, sickness, grief, and all manner of human sorrow, when everything appears broken and the future feels uncertain, hope still finds…
Apples of Gold 