Category: Thursday Thoughts

I recently worked very hard on a project for a week and then completed it. I put my best effort into the design and definitions of this assessment instrument. And when I sent it off to our partners, I had a distinct sense of accomplishment. I felt good and fulfilled as I pushed that send button. This…

I had an interesting dream a few weeks ago. I dreamt that I went to high school. The odd thing was that while I was in the physical body of a high schooler, I had my current mind of a 68-year-old. It was odd as I was attending the school for the first time as…

It is interesting reading about the individuals that are highlighted in Deeper Experiences of Famous Christians*. I am challenged by their commitment, passion, and submission to Christ; while at the same time bothered by some of their apparent lack of emotional health. Do they have to go together? There are cultural and/or centuries of time differences…

At the end of the year, I try to go back and read from the last several years of my journal to gain perspective and wisdom. On the last day of 2022, I read a journal entry from January 10, 2018 (almost five years prior), which mentioned having several conversations with a pastor from Nashville…then…

Last week I discussed being broken. Last year (May 5, 2022), I wrote about how we grow through seasons of faith. In that blog, I also give a link to a brief description of the six phases of faith development, which approximate the journey most of us take throughout our lives. Now, I would like to…

One of the aspects of growing older is that things which confused or frustrated me in my earlier life often become clear. This isn’t always the case but usually does. One of the most frustrating times in my life, without exception, was the 14 years I spent starting a church in Orlando. I was 32 and had: With…

In college, I came to faith in Christ and became part of several hundred other collegiates who were also growing in their faith. As I grew deeper in my walk with Christ over the next few years, I noticed an interesting phenomenon. Often the way individuals grew and expressed their faith was related to their personality. For example,…

I’ve had to [learn that] the important thing is not what I accomplish but the person I become. What God gets out of my life is not what I accomplish; it’s what I become…Dallas Willard* I recently read this quote from a talk Dallas Willard gave about 9 years before he died, and it rocked…

Over the holidays, we had a great day with some friends. One of the reasons it was so much fun was that there was no polarizing. We had great discussions on several in-depth subjects, but no one sought to persuade anyone else to their position. We talked about a lot of things, but nothing was controversial. I…