The Joseph Principle
Forgiveness is an internal, personal journey that does not require the other party. Reconciliation does. But forgiveness can move forward without them. This is a…
Category: Stories
Day 16 – Tribute to Larry Crabb
I just learned that Dr. Larry Crabb passed away yesterday. He was a Christian leader and author that profoundly influenced my life through his books…
Day 15 – God’s Mysterious Plan
On June 29, 2007 I was at home working when I answered a phone call from Terry. She was on her way to the emergency…
Day 14 – A barrier to forgiveness?
On this Friday I’d like to take a look back on the journey so far. This is the end of 3 of 4 weeks of…
Day 13 – Job’s Suffering; God’s Answer
When I wrote about Job, I received some interesting feedback that I thought might be good to revisit. One person asked: “How much time passed…
Day 12 – The Pain-Intention Matrix
When I was a kid I made a bow and arrow. Sort of. I had some bamboo that was probably one of those supports for…
Day 11 – The Problem Of Being Right
I scanned over the entire New Testament this morning looking at the many references to sin. Sin is an old word. A little out of…
Day 10 – The Starting Point of Forgiveness
(note: the photo with this article is my wife and our daughter, not the nephew I mention) We have photos at our wedding with our…
Day 9 – Glass half empty or half full?
One of my friends in junior high quizzed me, “is this glass half empty or half full?” The big reveal was that apparently it was…
Day 8 – Unfinished
It was an impulse, a moment of decision that came out of the blue. I’ve never told anyone that. …I just felt moved to do…
Day 7 – We should forgive
At this point I feel like I should affirm my beliefs. I’ve had some great responses to these messages and I’m grateful for all of…
Day 6 – How to remember something
When I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s I was told that you only have so many brain cells and that if you did…
Day 5 – The Strange Paradox With Forgiveness
Day 5: The Strange Paradox With Forgiveness So many wonderful responses to my messages last week, thank you! I appreciate every one of them. As…
Day 4 – Tricky Questions About Forgiveness
Forgiveness can appear to be a simple thing. And sometimes, it is. But for some people, and in some cases, it’s not. It can get…
Day 3 – Valleys of Death
My mom said a strange thing to me once. She said that when I was growing up I never held grudges, didn’t carry resentment. I’d…
Day 2 – Maybe this makes forgiveness harder?
Yesterday I started in a rather abstract place to discuss forgiveness: my simple childhood. There’s a reason for that, as I think you’ll see as…
Day 1 – How I’m going to explore forgiveness
We must inhabit our experiences. Our culture these days is entranced by ideas and concepts as though all we are is an idea. As though…
Are You Kicking a Goad vs. “Being With”?
My father had Crohn’s disease all his adult life, a gastrointestinal problem that would occasionally hospitalize him. In later years when this would happen I…
Don’t wait until “when”
We are fond of thinking that God lives outside of time. That he exists yesterday, today, and in the future. Which he does. But we…
“The most gratifying thing I’ve ever done”
Starting and growing Meditate On Christ has been the single most gratifying thing I’ve ever done in my life apart from having our 3 wonderful…
“Visualization”
I asked thousands of people to tell me the first word that comes to mind when they hear the word “visualization” and the results were…
Mental Rubbernecking
What is it about passing an accident scene on the highway that compels us to crane our necks around to satisfy our morbid curiosity? I…
Who are you grateful to?
Gratitude is a wonderful thing. And I ran into a video (below) that illustrates this beautifully. I’m not saying it did, but it might have…
Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast
About a month ago I read a quote from a navy SEAL that went, “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.” That’s so true. Whenever we…
The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
Let’s set the stage: Two people, one admired for his discipline, years of study, and prestige. He is an example of how to live and…
Wasp sting
I just got stung by a wasp! I was walking along, minding my own business when I felt something on my calf. Why do you…
What holds us back?
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.” – Marianne Williamson. “The mass of…
“May it be to me as you have said”
“May it be to me as you have said” – Lk 1:38 (Mary) “Oh God, As I sit in your presence and I wait on…
Houseflies
About a year ago we started to notice we were getting some flies in the house. Just little ones, but flies really bother me indoors.…
After the sobbing stops
You’ve been in this situation. As a child, no doubt, and maybe as a parent too: The child has done something wrong, again. Maybe it…
My Trip to the Emergency Room
About 10 years ago now, I spent the afternoon and evening in the Emergency room of the Calgary Foothills Hospital. My heart was beating erratically,…
“Heb Dhuw heb ddym, Dhuw a digon”
Can’t read it? I can’t either… it’s (apparently) old Welsh, and it comes from the motto on the Davis coat of arms. Every few years…
Are You Flapping Like a Duck?
We live out in the country, about 15 minutes from town. So that provides lots of opportunities to see wildlife on the drive. We have…