The gospel is undefeatable.
I was reminded of this truth over the weekend. After I finished my last final exam for the semester, I made my way back to Tennessee as a surprise for my former students. Each year, our college ministry holds a mystery trip in honor of the graduating seniors. The students dress up in formal wear and go they know not where.
This year, I was part of the mystery.
“The only thing good about 29 is the fact that it is not 30.” At least, that is what I said on this day last year. You may want to read that post first. It is called Confessions of a 29-year-old.
It is funny. For years, 30 was that age off in the future. As I got older, I stared at 30 down the end of the long hall, thinking, “At least I’m not 30 yet.”
Today, I stand on the other side of that number. I am 30. Continue reading
It is funny how life has a way of coming back around to the same point. Despite a seemingly linear movement down life’s road, we often find ourselves stumbling across signposts and circumstances that make us feel we have visited a place before.
This morning, I found myself reading old posts on my blog. Keep in mind, for you this may simply be a collection of articles, interesting or otherwise. For me, it is my journal. It is my life laid out in ink (howbeit digital) and I often find myself revisiting stories so that I can recount God’s work in my own life.
One post in particular struck a chord.
In May of 2010, I wrote a post about walking in faith. It was a point in my life where I was struggling with a lot of uncertainty about my future. I had decisions to make concerning my next steps in life and relationships with others, and I felt as though I was walking in the dark.
Today, instead of writing out a new post, I thought I would share this one.
It is called Steps in the Darkness. Give it a read.
An ellipsis, a literary term, is the notation of an omission of superfluous information. It is the set of three dots put between two pieces of significant information to show that the stuff in between was not worth writing.
Life can feel like an ellipsis sometimes. At least, that has been my experience of late.
There are those moments in life, the months (or perhaps even years) tucked between major life events, that appear as nothing more than a hiatus separating life’s chapters. It is these moments that feel they would best be represented by those three little dots instead of the words it would take to tell them. They are seemingly superfluous phrases in the midst of an otherwise meaningful quote. Continue reading
I do not own a GPS.
Furthermore, I do not want to own a GPS. I think they make me dumber. There is just something about plotting your own course that sharpens the navigational acumen.
That being said, I got lost last week.
During my marathon excursion on the eastern seaboard, I was leaving Virginia for North Carolina and found myself an hour out of the way headed in the wrong direction. Turns out, I had missed an exit about 60 miles back. Chalk it up to distraction; chalk it up to having a lot on my mind lately; chalk it up to stupidity. Whatever the case, I made a wrong turn and it affected the rest of my journey.
I have been thinking about direction a lot these last few weeks. Not road directions (obviously) but life directions.
If you are familiar with the movie Castaway, you may remember how it ends. Tom Hanks is at a crossroads, four roads winding off into the distance as far as you can see. The movie ends with him trying to make a decision about which one to take. I think I can relate to that. Continue reading
The moon was bright. It sat low in the sky and reflected off the still water of the lake, but the moon was not the source of light. A fire crackled and tiny embers danced away into the night sky. There was just enough light to make out the faces of the crowd gathered around the small bonfire.
It was a crowd of people just like me.
We sat around the fire that night participating in a moment that few could ever understand. Each one of us had just returned from two years overseas sharing the gospel. We had sat in huts telling stories about Jesus or had worked on foreign university campuses. We were teachers, farmers, pastors, or students. We all had different roles on field, but our purpose was singular, to share Christ with the nations. Continue reading
Welcome to my new home… at least on the internet.
If you read my last post, then you know my life flipped upside down this week. As of last Wednesday, I stepped foot in America again for the first time in two years. Prior to that, I was living in Africa, working as a church planter and missionary. This post begins the other side of that coin. Ironically enough, returning “home” feels like anything but that. I left all that had become familiar and have returned to foreign.
Now I get to start seeing life from a different perspective, hopefully with a fresh set of eyes. As I do, I plan on discussing that here.
First, let me explain some of the changes and new features around the site. Obviously, the site has been completely redesigned. I no longer live in Africa, so it would be quite a feat for me to continue writing musings from the dark continent. So, the old name had to go. I also chose a different color scheme, one that will hopefully be a little easier on the eyes.
Here are the specifics: Continue reading
An ancient fable relates the tale of a group of blind men upon their first encounter with an elephant. Having heard of an elephant before but not knowing anything about them, these men are given the opportunity to feel the creature in order to know what it is. In this story (which has been told by countless people groups on multiple continents for over a thousand years) a string of 3 to 6 blind men each approach the elephant one at a time, grabbing different parts of the animal.
One, having felt the side of the animal, claims with certainty that an elephant is some form of wall. Another adamantly disagrees with him claiming the elephant is some kind of tree, having wrapped his arms around the animal’s leg. A third chimes in stating that it must be some form of farming equipment, like a plow. He, of course, had felt the tusk. Yet another still claims they are all fools stating this is nothing more than a kind of snake, all the while wrestling with the elephants trunk.
Depending on the version you hear, the story ends with everyone getting in a fight. In some versions it is resolved and they learn from each other, and in other versions it is not.
In recent years, this particular fable has gotten a lot of air time as an anecdote to explain the validity of postmodernism. At best, this cute little story is a flimsy defense of postmodernism. However, it does serve as an excellent example of perspective. Continue reading
I needed this post.
I had a lot of fun choosing my 5 most entertaining posts for last week’s Term in Review, but I needed to work through this week’s post. It was medicine for my soul.
Recently, I mentioned my lack of excitement about returning to the States, and as that time has quickly approached, I have found myself running a gamut of emotions. Sometimes it is the dread of returning to the world from which I came and being disappointed with what I find. At other moments it is hurt at leaving a life created here, saying goodbye to friends and people who have now become family.
But sifting through this next portion of my Term in Review, I finally found a little perspective. Continue reading
People do not smile enough.
It is certainly true where I live, and rightly so. I currently live in a world where life is harder than most anyone who reads this could imagine. If you are reading this, you are sitting in front of a computer. Even if its not your own, you at least have access to one. Day after day, the people here are fighting for existence. Many are wondering whether they will eat tomorrow. They live in sickness, disease and danger.
That does not leave a lot of room for smiling. Yet, despite their circumstances, the people here make room. One of the greatest gifts I have received in Africa is a smiling face. In a world that is so hard, few things are as valuable as experiencing moments of joy with a friend.
There is just something about seeing a face light up with happiness, eyes bright and teeth out of hiding. That is why I wrote these posts. Continue reading
