Journal

Series: SOUNDINGS

SOUNDINGS: “To Become Luminous”

SOUNDINGS: “To Become Luminous”

Dear Jesus, help us to spread your fragrance everywhere we go. Flood our souls with your spirit and life. Penetrate and possess our whole being, so utterly, that our lives may only be a radiance of yours. Shine through us, and be so in us, that every soul we come in...
SOUNDINGS: Soul and Brain Food from Sabbatical

SOUNDINGS: Soul and Brain Food from Sabbatical

“SOUNDINGS” posts consider topics that are important for our society, for the Church, and for our own spiritual journeys.  To ‘take a sounding’ is a nautical term about using depth to determine where you are and where you’re going.  These writings are designed to do...
SOUNDINGS: “What Ever Happened to Lazarus?”

SOUNDINGS: “What Ever Happened to Lazarus?”

In the Orthodox tradition, Lazarus, whose story is chronicled in John 11, has a title:  “Lazarus, The Four-Days Dead.”  Sometimes we call him ‘the man who died twice.’  In that he did die twice, have you ever thought about where his (second) tomb might be?  I hadn’t...
SOUNDINGS: “God’s Kingdom at (Your) Work”

SOUNDINGS: “God’s Kingdom at (Your) Work”

“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!'” – Abraham Kuyper, “Severe Sovereignty” In many workplaces identifying yourself as a “Christian” changes...
“Enough!” – On Gun Violence in America

“Enough!” – On Gun Violence in America

Writing “Essential Christianity” in late December, 2020 was a great joy for me, a personal act of worship, a chance to comprehensively write what I believe, what I believe Christianity teaches, and what are the many implications of that teaching.  It also enabled me...
Henri Nouwen’s Deeper Spirituality

Henri Nouwen’s Deeper Spirituality

This reflection is part of our “Discernment: Hearing God in a Noisy World” Series.  Discerning God’s unique voice is one of the most important skills for a Christian and is absolutely crucial for our intimacy with God and our ability to follow him. ...
Science vs. Faith?

Science vs. Faith?

Part of the focus in our “Doubt, Deconstruction & Redemption” Series this year has been to make space for faithful Christians to ask hard questions that deserve to be asked and thoughtfully answered.  Two big types of questions both Christians and non-Christians...
SOUNDINGS: “Being Honest to God”

SOUNDINGS: “Being Honest to God”

This reflection is part of our 2022 “Doubt, Deconstruction & Redemption” Series.  You can read my original piece laying out why it is fitting for Coracle to pick up this conversation at this moment HERE.  If you are on a deconstruction journey or caring for...
SOUNDINGS: “Learning to Hear God”

SOUNDINGS: “Learning to Hear God”

This reflection is part of our “Discernment: Hearing God in a Noisy World” Series.  Discerning God’s unique voice is one of the most important skills for a Christian and is absolutely crucial for our intimacy with God and our ability to follow him. ...
SOUNDINGS: “The Sweetness of Weakness”

SOUNDINGS: “The Sweetness of Weakness”

“Emptying precedes filling.”  Eugene Peterson   My favorite living novelist is the Canadian Roman Catholic, Michael D. O’Brien.  I’ve read most of his thirteen novels, and his Father Elijah remains one of the most formative works of fiction in my life.  For all...
SOUNDINGS: Your “Crux Move”

SOUNDINGS: Your “Crux Move”

A few summers ago while vacationing in the High Country of North Carolina, my family found ourselves at a gym devoted to rock climbing, with high-pitched walls and many multi-colored hand and foot holds molded and screwed to the walls in a variety of patterns. ...
SOUNDINGS: “Shine in the Darkness”

SOUNDINGS: “Shine in the Darkness”

“…so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world”  Philippians 2.15   Paul speaks of “a crooked and twisted generation.”   I wonder,...

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