The night is beautiful,
So the faces of my people.

The stars are beautiful,
So the eyes of my people.

Beautiful, also, is the sun.
Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people.

Langston Hughes

Holding a grudge/lack of forgiveness/resentment is like drinking rat poison and waiting for the rat to die.

I really love the holidays. I'm a "moment" kind of guy, and there are so many sacred moments within the context of family. Okay, maybe not everyone's family. But at least in mine.

I cherish the time I have with my wife and kids, her family and my family.

I'm ready to turn the page into a new year, too. Renewal, rebirth, etc. So powerful, that life can spring forth in new forms with merely a turn of a calendar. A new season is coming to my ministry and my church, and I'm excited to see how it impacts the Kingdom of God.

Book Review of N.D. Wilson's "Notes From the Tilt-A-Whirl"

From the opening pages of the preface of Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl, N.D. Wilson is disarming. As disarming as the title of the book itself. Humor, self-deprecation, “non-religious” jargon. I instantly want to like this book, its author, and the content within.

And like it I did. This poetic nonfiction work feels as much like journaling, if not entering the very mind of the author. Wilson takes us through the four seasons of earth’s rotation, using scenes of nature to bring to life scenes of spirituality. From the baptism and rebirth of spring and summer to the slow death and grave of fall and winter, Wilson will cause you to look at “God’s spoken world” as never before. You will have a newfound appreciation for even the tiniest of creatures and their complex intricacies. You will see the living metaphor of the changing seasons in a new way.

Also, you’ll appreciate Wilson’s take on the problem of evil, the fall, heaven and hell, and other major philosophical debates. All of these “high and mighty” subjects are enjoyed without taking them too seriously. However, there is still major food for thought on these great discussions.

Fans of Donald Miller and Anne Lamott will eat this book up, and place it in a similar category. Those who don’t care for such conversational, questioning, wrestling faith should steer clear. But if you steer clear, you’ll be missing something wonderful!

Clouds

It's one of those seasons in our church...the gray cloud where people complain enough to really bum you out. It's sad, really. And it's really sad when people give the squeaky wheel grease. That just further bums people out.

I just returned from the Willow Arts Conference, where I was energized to be creative and to create for the kingdom. I'm really excited about stuff, and I'm pumped...then I come back to the gray cloud.

But I'm trying to break through it. Breaking on through to the other side, you know? Trying to bring others with me. But it's difficult. I guess that's what leadership is, eh?