It’s been a week since I last blogged. Wow, that’s horrible of me. It’s simply been busy. That’s life. But when I wrote about Lent, I said I would tell you about the Penitencia. It’s one of my memories about Easter time. You can find pictures of it online by Googling “Penitencia Philippines.” But fair […]
2 Very Practical Ways to Prevent Ministry Burnout
On Monday, I wrote about calloused calluses, when our hearts harden and we become spiritually dull. And I mentioned that the author of Hebrews seemed to know about ministry burnout. Burnout is “the state of chronic stress that leads to physical and emotional exhaustion, cynicism and detachment, and feelings of ineffectiveness and lack of accomplishment” (psychologytoday.com). […]
Bible Study: Hebrews 6, Calloused or Callused
Torturous wires taut across the neck, turning at the headstock, and slicing across the pads of a newborn guitarist’s fingers. The pianist inside me, trained in ramrod straight sitting and graceful keys lilting, protested at the intrusion of nylon and steel. It was too much, too painful, and I gave up before my fun manicured […]
A Hard Week to be a Writer
Words have the ability to hurt us or uplift us, and this week felt like being shot down with an arrow. Every hope, every dream, and every step forward suddenly felt unfounded, ridiculous, and unworthy of being pursued. It has taken me a long time to call myself a writer. Still, every, “What do you […]
God Will Restore You
I started watching this show, “Remedy,” about a chief of staff dad and his children, two daughters (a surgeon and a nurse) and a son, Griffin, working in the same hospital. Griffin is the black sheep of the family. He dropped out of med school. He was a drug addict. Disappeared for 2 years without […]
Bible Study: John 3, By Faith
Like that saying, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all,” I don’t always know what to write in this blog, and I don’t want to just write anything. So I figured, for my benefit and hopefully your encouragement, I’ll let the Author do the talking. So I’m starting a […]
Despite Closed Doors
Yesterday, I shared what I learned from the conference speaker/pastor. That was from one sermon. The second is just as insightful and a blessing. He focused on Thomas, commonly referred to as Doubting Thomas. Except he wasn’t the only one who doubted the resurrection of Jesus. All of the disciples did! In Mark 16:14, Jesus […]