The Cleft
Dying experiences. Suffering experiences. Hard experiences. Loss. If we approach these in the victory of the Cross, we will see them through to the victory of the Resurrection. Life always comes out of death.
Tag: #godspurpose
Wake Up Call
God was not caught off guard by this young man’s suicide. He was not surprised by it. Could I have made a difference? Maybe. I’ll never know for certain. I do know that God allowed him in my life for a season of mutual encouragement…. I can be thankful for this experience. Joyously giving thanks? Absoultely not! Not right now. Not yet. Maybe a little further down the road, when I see more of how God uses it. For now, it just hurts too much.
Lessons from a Country Store
It was a simple white frame building, similar in construction to the three houses lined up down the dirt street to the east of it. I walked up the steps onto the wooden porch and was immediately charmed as I entered the old, country, general store. Wood planks made up…
Pettiness, Powers and Pentecost
I have two things burning in my heart tonight. The two things are unity, and Pentecost. Our world is in turmoil because of the global Covid-19 pandemic. People around the world are concerned about how they will survive the disease, and about how they will survive financially. For some health…
He Loves You to the Moon and Back
St. George’s House is a spiritual retreat on the grounds of Windsor Castle in England. It was begun by His Royal Highness Prince Philip and Robin Woods, then Dean of Windsor. Trish and I watched an episode of “The Crown,” the Netflix series about the reign of Queen Elizabeth II,…
The Covid-19 Shake-up
It’s a shaking “of Biblical proportions.” That’s the effect Covid-19 is having on our society and the world economy. More significantly, it is the effect it is having on the economy of many, many individuals. And, it is the effect it is having on the life-style of pretty much every…
Inheritance
This house used to belong to my great-grandfather, Papa Sibley. It’s on property that belonged to my great-great-great grandfather. My mother and her family lived there a few years when she was a little girl. There is a family cemetery you can see to the south of the house. There…
Work and Rest
Is this time of staying at home because of a global pandemic a time to rest? Is it a Sabbath? No more than any other time. Most of us haven’t really traded a time of activity for inactivity. We’ve traded it for different activities. Some are able to work from…
Legacy
In an earlier post I mentioned my great-grandfather, Papa Sibley, and the influence he had on my Aunt Jean. She wrote of him: “My grandfather, John Coleman Sibley, whom we lovingly called Papa, died when I was only 11 years of age, but he has had the greatest spiritual impact…
Religion or relationship?
According to the dictionary, the word “religion” comes from religare (Latin) to restrain, hold back, tie up. Where we get the word relegate. It has to do with devotion, in the sense of commitment, fervency, adherence. In that sense, some of the most religious people I have ever met are atheists….