Mar 19
Church People Only Smell Better
In: Blog, God, perspective 17 commentsBack in the early days of Thrive Church, we had a worship leader who started the journey with us. He was humble and madly talented. His songs spoke of redemption and pain – told stories of his past addiction and the homeless community that took him in when he left his privileged past in search [...]
READ MORE »Mar 15
The 3 Parts of Your Story that Will Matter Most
In: Blog, story 31 commentsWhere there is a person, there is a story. It lies in the heart and is marked on the brain and comes out in words and reactions and a depth of wisdom about things only a person who has lived can fully understand. It is true, that all stories matter. But some stories matter more. [...]
READ MORE »Mar 12
Don’t Quit
In: Blog, hope, Jesus 24 commentsSomeone needs to read these words today: don’t quit. No matter how hard it gets. No matter how things don’t make sense and your brain thinks they should. Don’t quit on your dreams. They may be closer than you know. Don’t quit on hope or think it’s a waste of your time. Hope rises from [...]
READ MORE »Mar 07
God is Not a Product
In: Blog, God, perspective 12 commentsIf I haven’t told you before, let this post convince you about how much you — this community — inspires me. {How one thing you say can trigger an important moment in the heart of another and that is why I love the conversation we have going, here, in this place where we are chasing [...]
READ MORE »Mar 01
Does Your Life Reflect Its Mission?
In: Blog, God, Purpose 17 commentsSeveral weeks ago, standing on a stage and looking out at a beautiful group of people I had just shared my heart with about {w}hole, a silent thought floated in… “This is all I ever want to do, with the rest of my life.” It has been a road long traveled…a series of constant yieldings…and [...]
READ MORE »Feb 27
When People Don’t Get You
In: Blog, growth, personal 10 commentsThe memory is forever etched in my heart. I was 17. It was summer youth camp. God had been stirring in me, in a way I didn’t fully understand. What was happening inside me was real. And I could not hold it in. It came out in massive soul heaves on stage, the last night [...]
READ MORE »Feb 22
If You Want to Stay Well
In: Blog, life, wholeness 12 commentsIf becoming well is a steep mountain climb with high altitude endings, staying well is living in that high altitude despite the ongoing challenge of threatening high winds. The truth is: it’s hard to stay well in a world that blows us in a different direction. It is why we have to want to know [...]
READ MORE »Feb 20
Winners and this Wednesday
In: Blog, Uncategorized 10 commentsFirst…thank you all for using your voice last week to comment on the post. I cannot tell you how much I love, love this community. You inspire me, more than you know. We are having some important conversations on this blog, and that excites me. {As promised, the winners of last week’s give-away of the [...]
READ MORE »Feb 15
Use Your Voice
In: Blog, growth, truth 65 comments“As Jesus was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed begged to go with him. But Jesus said, ‘No, go home to your family, and tell them everything the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been.’ So the man started off to visit the Ten Towns of that region and [...]
READ MORE »Feb 09
People Are Not Products
In: Blog, truth 29 commentsBehind every front door of a house… …behind every car steering wheel, every counter of a retail store, every sign that says “will work for food” is a real, live person. They bring with them, baggage. They have ideas about the world and many of them have been shaped by what thus far, their world [...]
READ MORE »Feb 07
Let’s Go
In: Blog, Jesus 35 commentsI emerge from my 30+ day fast renewed, committed and a tad bit, feisty. {You have been forewarned.} Consider this a disclaimer, of sorts…as things on this blog and in this community are about to get serious. As I wrote in my last post, I’m going hard after God this year. And I’m not altogether [...]
READ MORE »Jan 03
I Want God
In: Blog, spiritual 62 commentsFor the next 30 days, my voice on this blog will be silent. It is something I did not go into 2012 intending to do. I do not believe in resolutions any more than I believe God needs a man-made calendar to make anything new. What I do believe in are commitments, surrender, and recognizing [...]
READ MORE »Dec 21
Every Last Thing
In: Blog, wholeness 7 commentsThere is that moment in time when words meant to inspire in mass feel inexplicably personal. It was how things felt on Sunday, when my pastor said this: “Our purpose here on earth is to give our life away.” The 11 words hit my ears and all-at-once I felt like a hoarder…of the parts of [...]
READ MORE »Dec 19
The Gift of the More
In: Blog, Compassion 1 comment‘You’re far happier giving than getting.’” {Acts 20:35} There is a place that lives inside all of us…a place that wants more. So when the Christmas lights shine and the mall shops sit, overstuffed…we numbly bow to the gods of commercialism, pretending that the more is about things that come in shiny packages with crisp, [...]
READ MORE »Dec 16
Bring the Hope
In: Blog, Christmas 2 commentsThis is a man I do not know. It is one of my favorite pictures I’ve ever taken. I took it while visiting the city of Boston, a melting pot of faces…struggles…souls of those that matter to their Creator. This man I do not know stands on the busy street and speaks Jesus. His approach, [...]
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