Monthly Archives: September 2011
The Corrosiveness of Social Anxiety
“In any social situation, I felt fear. I would be anxious before I even left the house, and it would escalate as I got closer to a college class, a party, or whatever. I would feel sick in my stomach-it almost felt like I had the flu. My heart would pound, my palms would get [...]
Why Are You Still Outside?
There are so many that are outside our walls. Those blinded and confused by the Church and the gospel. People are for the most part not this blatant or obvious in their pain. But it is what they are asking that tunes us in. “Where?” Humans have been created with a special spot inside them. This [...]
“You Don’t Bring Me Flowers, Anymore”
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth— For your love is better than wine. 3 Because of the fragrance of your good ointments, Your name is ointment poured forth; Therefore the virgins love you. 4 Draw me away! Song of Solomon 1:24 “Dear God, I think about you sometimes even [...]
Discovering an Intense ‘Agape’
by Bryan Lowe “Accepting the reality of our broken, flawed lives is the beginning of spirituality not because the spiritual life will remove our flaws but because we let go of seeking perfection and, instead, seek God, the one who is present in the tangledness of our lives. ” — Michael Yaconelli ………………………………………. My “Agape” Jalopy [...]
God Keeps Your Tears in a Bottle
I have cried many tears in my life. If you have never cried, you can stop reading right now. But if you have shed tears for yourself or for others, or if like me you have shed some without even knowing why or where they came from, take heart. God knows the tears you have [...]
Frederick
When I was a young boy, I loved to read. I was given books by my mother, and these books were like gold. I had been a definite patron of the library but had pretty much been branded as “persona non grata” and I think the librarians had orders to shoot to kill. (To this day, these [...]
Anxiety, the Common Coin of the Realm
“God the Father grant to me, All my daily needs. Why should I not to Him flee, “When all the birds He feeds.” Claudius We wrestle with amazing issues, they oddly seem like certainties. That is part of their strength. Anxiety over our future, is a very difficult thing to separate from. The dictionary has [...]
Mix Faith With Doing
“In the same way, faith by itself—that does nothing—is dead.” James 2 Recipes are good. I used to sit and read “The Joy of Cooking,” reading it like it was a literary novel. I was quite fond about the simple way it divided everything up. You had sections on Meats, and Desserts, and even Drinks. [...]
English Pigeons, and Other Scintillating Mysteries
In April 2002, I sitting in this cavernous waiting room at King’s Cross in London, England. I was waiting for a bus to Cambridge, UK. I sat all alone, and stared at the tiled floor at my feet. The doctors had warned me not to travel alone, but I had disregarded their restrictions. I was [...]