I woke up a couple mornings ago with a vivid recollection of a dream; the details were already fuzzy, but the emotional content remained strong…
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I was running (slowly) up a mountain yesterday…and breathing was much on my mind, and I became keenly aware of the direct relationship between your ability to access oxygen and the pace you’re trying to keep.
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“Ashley has a flat tire and can’t get to work and Jeromy is already at work. Can you go help her?” Ah, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak…
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How many times have we sung the old favorite? “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.” And how many times have we owned the label wretch without question?
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I was in the middle of a five-day retreat where it is my practice to start each year with time away to hit an internal “reset” and discern how to align myself with God’s purposes for the new year...
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Basketball team affiliation was all-important when I was a kid growing up in the sandhills of eastern North Carolina. The UNC - NC State rivalry was epic at the time, and although my parents had zero interest in sports, we were a Tarheel family. That identity solidified...
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“Behold.” When is the last time you heard that word? It feels haunted by ghosts of Christmas pageants past. Melodramatic much? As I’ve been pondering the word this week, though, I’ve started to love it…
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Three years ago I walked into a conference center in north Chicago for the first of nine retreats. As 70 other Christian leaders mingled the room preparing for a new journey into spiritual formation, I knew I had found my “tribe.” You know…your people…
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I was soaking up some sun on an Italian beach with my friends Mark and Priscilla and got to talking about one of my favorite topics—the Enneagram. Mark asked a question: So what really is the practical value of a personality assessment?
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You might remember a goofy movie with Jim Carrey from ten years back called “Yes Man.” The essence of the plot is that Carrey’s character is drawn into a community of positive thinkers who are intent on saying yes and not saying no. In a huge auditorium they all chant together, “Yes, Yes, Yes” over and over. Of course this leads to all sorts of hilarious and ridiculous and sometimes inappropriate situations as only Jim Carrey can manage.…
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Last week I mentioned the decision we personally had to make about whether to buy a house. When we went to visit the house that evening, we absolutely loved it…but were greatly disappointed to find that there was a racetrack just across the valley where supercharged cars would consume every summer evening with their deafening roar. Reluctantly, we walked away…
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Last fall Kellie and I had close friends come visit us up here in the North Carolina mountains, friends we’ve known for 30 years. In the course of conversation I interjected the oft-used expression “It’s all good,” which my friend immediately and good-naturedly took me to task on.
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The earliest memory I have of an actual prayer when I was a kid was a recurring petition: God, just let me hear your voice. Named or unnamed, I think this is the quiet cry of many a heart.
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About a week ago I picked up a 24-hour stomach bug. I felt like I was dying. I had just finished watching a TV show where the main character’s best friend died…and her dog…in the same episode. Yikes.
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