Doing the work on Everyday Psalms: Ancient Prayers in Everyday Language was one of the greatest prayer experiences of my life. I’m excited to share it with you that it might be a good companion […]
Best music of 2023
It’s time to look back — or more accurately, listen back — on my favorite music releases of 2023. As always, I’m moved by the music created by so many people. There is no end […]
The Hamas invasion and Psalm 137
The reports from Israel have been horrific. On Oct. 7, 2023, invaders from the Hamas organization had penetrated the state of the art defenses of Israel. They had attacked some military targets, but much of […]
Happy Angel Day
Get out the mixer and make yourself some angel food cake. It’s Angel Day today. In the liturgical calendar, it’s referred to as Michaelmas — kinda like Christmas, but with a mass in honor of […]
Reason to pray #40: To stop moving in our constantly moving world
Stop. Be still. Let this sink in: “I am God. I will take my place Over all nations. I will be known And honored From pole to pole.” (Everyday Psalms, Psalm 46, page 112) Caffeine […]
Reason to pray #39: To understand the confusion inside of us
My own heart Is a mystery to me, But you know me inside and out, Yahweh. Nothing is hidden from your eyes. … I need you To look inside of me. You know everything about […]
Reason to pray #38: To deal with disappointment
My words are prayers, Even as I complain, my God. (Everyday Psalms, Psalm 64, page 145) “I can’t get no satisfaction, I can’t get no satisfaction. ‘Cause I try and I try and I try […]
Reason to pray #37: To be silent in our noisy world
In the empty time between laying down and sleeping, Let the silence go deep, Sounding out and searching your heart. (Everyday Psalms, Psalm 4, page 11) In an old black and white episode of the […]
Reason to pray #36: To honor and care for civic leaders
Make the king wise, Thoughtful, Discerning. Make our ruler righteous, Deciding what’s best for the people, Providing for your poor, God. Let peace and freedom ring From every mountainside And justice From every hill and […]
Reason to pray #35: To voice creation’s praise
The heavens shout God’s glory! The skies never stop talking About his creativity. All day, Every day, They just keep on speaking. All night, Every night, They share what they know. They can’t actually talk, […]
Reason to pray #34: To resist evil
To love Yahweh is to hate evil. (Everyday Psalms, Psalm 97, page 223) My kids were too little to read and take in the Harry Potter books when they were being written and released. But […]
Reason to pray #33: To answer God, which completes our Bible reading
He speaks. The same Voice comes to Jacob, Bringing wise laws and decrees to Israel. No other nation has been so fortunate. They don’t know these words of life. So shout your Hallelujah! (Everyday Psalms, […]
Reason to pray #32: Because we need something and God is a generous Giver
The trail you guide me down Is life and life and more life. When I’m with you, My joy is complete. I don’t need to pursue happiness, Because you have everything I’d ever want, And […]
Reason to pray #31: Because we’ve been hurt and we need to forgive
It’s hard not to strike back At those that hurt us, But turn your back On that way of living. Be an agent of wholeness In this broken world. Chase that kind of life With […]
Reason to pray #30: To remember that God is the greatest reality of our lives
You’re our home, Lord. You always have been. Before there were mountains, Before you’d shaped any part of earth, Before the beginning and after the end of everything else, There is one solid reality — […]
Reason to pray #29: To articulate our hopes and dreams
We were like giddy dreamers Whose dreams had actually come true. (Everyday Psalms, Psalm 126, page 297) OK, let’s be honest here. Most of our hopes and dreams tend to be pretty small and self-centered. […]
Reason to pray #28: To discover what it is we really want, separating it from what we crave
But even more than that, I desire this: To see your face. When I wake up from this nightmare, It’s your face I will see. I will be so completely satisfied, Every other desire will […]
Reason to pray #27: To do the one thing helpful for other people whom I’m not able to help in other ways
I will thank you,Yahweh, But I won’t do it by myself. I want others to get in on it with me. (Everyday Psalms, Psalm 108, page 251) The daughter of dear friends is hospitalized because […]
Reason to pray #26: To join God in the work he is doing in the world
Unless it’s Yahweh building the house, The work is pointless. Unless it’s Yahweh protecting the city, The security guards might as well go home. What’s the point of getting up early Or staying up late, […]
Reason to pray #25: To say, “I love you,” to the one who has loved us so well
I love you,Yahweh! With you, I’m strong. (Everyday Psalms, Psalm 18, page 33) To be human is to be loved. This is our starting point. Most of us started our lives with parents who had […]
Reason to pray #24: Because God answers and acts in the world
Prayer changes everything. Yahweh hears. He answers. He acts Out of his great love. (Everyday Psalms, Psalm 27, page 56) The primary reason most people pray is to get God to do stuff. It’s also […]
Reason to pray #23: To fill the emptiness inside of us
Give me your full attention, Yahweh. Answer me. I am so weak and empty right now, So insecure. Secure my life, I live it for you. Lean toward me. I’m leaning on you. (Everyday Psalms, […]
Reason to pray #22: To vent the violence of betrayal inside of us
I could handle enemy insults. I could run from a bully. But it’s you, My soul friend, My lifelong companion. My most cherished memories include you And me together in prayer, Hearts united in worship […]
Reason to pray #21: To move from consumerism to contentment
Yes, this is how the me-first live: Carefree consumerists, Treating the world like it’s their oyster. (Everyday Psalms, Psalm 73, page 168) I have a mouth. I eat stuff. I consume. Even so, I am […]
Reason to pray #20: To pay attention to the people and things God wants us to pay attention to
And yet, he pays attention to the poor and needy, Pulling them out of the dumpster Society has tossed them into, Dressing them up in the finest clothes And seating them among princes and princesses, […]
Reason to pray #19: To stop being dazzled by celebrities and politicians and those we’re told to pay attention to
I know this to be true: God takes care of his people, Those who live simply, Innocently, Kindly. But I got so distracted looking the other way, I didn’t watch where I was going, Wandering […]
Reason to pray #18: To pull back the curtain and see things as they really are
But something changed everything, Gave me new clarity. I stepped into your sanctuary And gained some new perspective. (Everyday Psalms, Psalm 73, page 169) Not always, but prayer often brings clarity. It helps me see. […]
Reason to pray #17: To rest from all our striving
When my soul craves rest, I find it in God. He puts together The pieces of my life. He’s a sound foundation And steel girder construction. No earthquake can take me down. (Everyday Psalms, Psalm […]
Reason to pray #16: To love my friends by praying for them, remembering them before God
How have your best friends Become my best friends? We’re companions on the same journey, Headed in the same direction, Marked by your signs. That’s how. (Everyday Psalms, Psalm 119, page 278) I miss my […]
Reason to pray #15: To make sense of the senselessness of life
We’re gone with a gasp. Add them all up and we may last Seventy or eighty years. We’re so proud of what we do, But it’s really just one struggle after another. So quickly spent. […]
Reason to pray #6: To offer ourselves to God
When I can’t sleep, My thoughts turn to you. Sometimes, I think of you Through many dark night hours. I remember how you’ve helped me. And there on my bed, I start to sing, Enfolded […]
Reason to pray #12: Because details matter
If I sit or stand, you know it. I can’t hide my thoughts from you. If I run an errand or take a nap, You know my routines And every break from them. You hear […]
Reason to pray #14: To enjoy God
Israel, let loose and enjoy your Maker. Zion, simply enjoy your King. Move your bodies, Dancing your praise. Play your piano and guitar, Singing your praise. Yahweh is delighted, Thrilled with his people. He hangs […]
Reason to pray #13: To bow before the King
Give it up for Yahweh, folks. Give it up, Applauding his graceful beauty, Applauding his athletic strength. Give it up for Yahweh! He deserves every bit of glory we can heap on him. Don’t show […]
Reason to pray #11: In order to believe
To know you is to trust you,Yahweh. You don’t walk away from those who run to you. (Everyday Psalms, Psalm 9, page20) I pray myself into belief. Everyone who prays does. Prayer creates faith where […]
Reason to pray #10: Because we believe
Yahweh’s faithful character Can be seen in all he does. It makes his words believable — Always true, Always making things right. For Yahweh loves when relationships Are made right, Loving it when justice prevails. He […]
Reason to pray #9: To find a friend in God
Oh lovely Yahweh: My firm foundation. My master at arms, Schooling me in warfare, Training me to fight. My faithful friend. My fort. My castle. My champion. My impenetrable wall. My safe house. My bodyguard. […]
Reason to pray #8: To articulate our sorrows and losses and move toward gratitude
I need some kindness now, Yahweh. I’m in a dark, dark place. I can hardly see, My eyes blurry from crying. My body aches from stress. … Sorrow devours me. (Everyday Psalms, Psalm 31, page […]
Reason to pray #7: To articulate our fears and move toward trust
My nightlight for my night terrors. My body guard in a dark alley. That’s Yahweh, Canceling my fear. My life’s safe house, That’s Yahweh. Remind me again Why I should fear anyone. (Everyday Psalms, Psalm […]
Reason to pray #5: To say thank you for all that is true & good & beautiful around us
Loose your lungs! Get loud for Yahweh, all earth. Give yourself to Yahweh without holding back. As you sing, You’ll find yourself In his Presence. … Every day is Thanksgiving for us. Every day we […]
Reason to pray #4: To express our emotions
Feelings black and bleak Weigh me down like a ton of bricks. From dawn to dusk I wallow in self-pity. Getting out of bed is impossible. I can barely move Without searing pain shooting through […]
Reason to pray #3: To reorient ourselves toward others
Quit the me-first life. A good life is the best life, A forever life. It’s a caring-for-others kind of life That makesYahweh smile, That he never Rejects, That he establishes forever. Me-first families are a […]
Reason to pray #2: To reorient ourselves toward God
Listening toYahweh leads to the best kind of life. Even at night, he speaks to my heart. I orient myself straight toward Yahweh. I don’t need to look anywhere else for support, He’s right there. […]
Reason to pray #1: To rediscover ourselves when we get lost
My own heart Is a mystery to me, But you know me inside and out, Yahweh. Nothing is hidden from your eyes. (Everyday Psalms, Psalm 139, page 313) I get lost. Often. I’ll be listening […]
Why pray?
A friend asked the question, “Why do we pray?” I’m not sure what was behind the question, but I decided to take it seriously. If I’m honest, there are times when praying feels like a […]
The role of humanity in Creation
What role does humanity play within Creation? Are we more significant than the rest of the created order or are we on the same level with the rest? During a prayer of confession a decade […]
The best books I read in 2022
This year was a big year for reading and listening to books. I made my way through 160 books in 2022. Yep. A lot. Everything from Shakespeare to Diary of a Wimpy Kid books. So […]
My favorite albums of 2022
As I’ve said before, ranking art is not only meaningless, it is a violation. Art cannot be quantified. Beauty contests know nothing of beauty, only of contests. Ranking art reduces it to an industrial product. […]
Reflections on “Consume No Plastic Week”
I’ve set aside a week as Consume No Plastic Week. Here’s my progress report. OK. It’s really hard to avoid buying or using plastic. Ridiculously hard. Our society is built on a foundation of plastic. […]
The purpose of rules
I set the ball between the two teenagers. One of them held a bat. The other an orange cone. I yelled, “Go!” They just stood there. Awkwardly. Embarrassment and frustration showed on their faced. And […]
Consume No Plastic Week — Aug. 21-27
Plastic is ubiquitous. It’s everywhere, infiltrating every aspect of our lives. Pick up a pen. It’s plastic. Open up a cereal box. Inside the cereal is packaged in plastic. Get a cup of coffee at […]
The generosity of nature & the nature of generosity
Three feet above me, perched atop a ponderosa pine branch, squats a chipmunk no taller than my thumb. She embraces a pinecone slightly larger than herself. With nimble twists and turns and rapid flurries of […]
Longevity and completeness
I feel my mortality. Perhaps it’s my job. I see lots of death. There’s really no getting around it as a hospital chaplain. Perhaps it’s my age. Hitting my 50s has coincided with the death […]
Life is a role-playing game
Online gaming has brought a whole new life to the role-playing games I knew growing up. Back in the early 1980s, Dungeons and Dragons had an air of mystique and a reputation of leading unsuspecting […]
Does Psalm 91 over-promise of protection?
I hadn’t seen my sister Joy for more than a few minutes the previous Christmas. My wife and our infant son had arrived an hour before she and her family had to leave to spend […]
“My body, my choice”
For many years, the phrase “My body, my choice” has been the mantra of the pro-choice camp in the abortion wars. It’s encapsulated the belief that no one should be able to tell a woman […]
Pete’s top ten (er, dozen) albums of 2021
The best new music released in 2021 that had my record player and my head spinning are often outside of the mainstream. But I’m me and I like what I like. So here they are […]
God is inconvenient
Faith is not a matter of convenience. If anything, the demands God makes on our lives are quite inconvenient. And yes, God does make demands. God doesn’t just ask, he commands me to forgive people […]
Covid, contempt, and meat sacrificed to idols
I work in a hospital and see people dying of COVID-19 on a regular basis. As I write, roughly half of the patients in our hospital are there because of serious symptoms caused by the […]
The essential Ascension
The least observed of the major days in the Christian calendar is Ascension Day. Coming 40 days after Easter, it lands on a Thursday which doesn’t fit well with our Sunday-centered worship rhythm. And that […]
Time for the moon & time for God
My daughter and I were having a conversation about solar and lunar calendars. Yes, I know. It’s an odd topic for conversation. But don’t most of our best conversations have their odd elements and strange […]
The Vine (or When I become God’s enemy)
Every now and then I pause and ask myself: What if I’m on the wrong side here? Is it possible I’m the bad guy in this situation? I have stepped back to gain some perspective […]
When we lose (or, From the hurting to the healing)
I hate losing. I’m a competitor. And I win a lot. I’ve coached undefeated volleyball teams and when my family does game nights, their main goal is to keep me from winning. I’m not a […]
God & the injustice of war
War is evil. There is no greater source of human injustice in the world. War robs more from the poor than any thief. War kills more people than any mass murderer. War displaces more people […]
Among fake friends
How do we pray when faced with fake friends who betray us?
Creation is my church
“Nature is my church.” “I feel close to God when hiking the mountains.” In my work as a hospital chaplain, I’ve heard those and similar statements hundreds of times. Sometimes they’re excuses for skipping out […]
Widening the circle of prayer
When life crushes us, many turn to prayer. But not everyone. Even among the seemingly religious, prayer isn’t the first resort. The overall secularizing of our culture over the past few hundred years since the […]
Ready Player Two & the resurrection of the body
First this: There will be a major spoiler for the book Ready Player Two (sequel to Ready Player One, as if you couldn’t tell) by Ernest Cline in this post. If you don’t want the […]
Waiting for a Covid vaccine & waiting for Jesus
As a kid, I couldn’t wait for Christmas. I ached for it to arrive. Growing up in Southern California, we didn’t get snow like we do where I live now in Bend, Oregon. But in […]
A better dad than I am
Like all dads, I make my fair share of mistakes. I try my best with my kids, but I am quite far from perfect. But despite my imperfect parenting, I think I’m a pretty good […]
The ugly side of grief
There’s no fun side to grief. There’s nothing about it that makes me break out in cheers. There’s a reason why we try to avoid it and, when we can’t do that, why we try […]
In the morning & in the mourning
Almost every night for the past two and a half years, I put my Dad to bed. We did the same thing every night. After visiting with one another for a while, it’d be bedtime. […]
The holes we leave behind
We all leave holes behind when we die. But not all holes are good holes. Some are more like bullet holes, gaping wounds that scar over badly. But as I look at the holes my […]
Watching my Dad’s last breaths
As I write, I’m sitting across the room from my Dad and he breathes shallow breaths. I feel like I should be counting them. They will be his last. I’ve watched at least a hundred […]
Everyone, Everything, Everywhere
My career as a bully was short-lived and thankfully so. I was probably 13 when I decided to try pushing around a kid a year or two younger but half my size. I figured he’d […]
Complainitude
There is no end to the opportunities to complain. And there are days when I avail myself of almost all of them. I didn’t sleep well. The weather sucks. My cereal ran out. I bit […]
Revenge!
Of all the superhero movies churned out over the last two decades, the ones arising from the Marvel Cinematic Universe have dominated. And the centerpiece of those movies is a band of characters who call […]
The King and the chaos that beats us like pounding waves
As a kid, I grew up near Los Angeles in California. The beaches were spectacular and inviting. Every year, I got an equally spectacular sunburn since sunscreen was a fairly new fangled idea at the […]
A Sabbath perspective
“Frank is mowing his lawn! He’s breaking the Sabbath!” My son was just five years old at the time and scandalized by our neighbor’s flagrant disregard for observing the Sabbath command. His dismay mirrors most […]
The three-step process to justice
We are living during a time where there are repeated calls for justice. That’s good, but it’s not enough. And I’m worried that the current emotional fervor will be wasted and the opportunity lost for […]
1 Peter 5
A side note to church leaders. I write to you as a fellow leader, as one who saw firsthand the sufferings of the anointed king of the world, and as one who will get in […]
1 Peter 4 (a rendering)
Since even the anointed king of the world suffered physically, you need to prepare yourself for the same and think like he did. Going the way of suffering like that means you’ve chosen not to […]
1 Peter 3
Thinking and acting in the same way, wives don’t fight with your husbands. Not-fighting is the key to “winning.” And the goal here is that unbelieving husbands would be won over. It’s your beautiful and […]
1 Peter 2 (a rendering)
So take a look inside yourselves and toss out everything with a hint of malice, deception, hypocrisy, envy, and slander. All of it. Babies are satisfied by one and only one thing: milk. Be like […]
1 Peter 1 (a rendering)
From Peter, specially sent by Jesus the anointed king of the world. To God’s hand-picked people. Even though you are aliens and exiles scattered all over the place (Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia), God […]
Why the system is broken
I take breaks from the news and social fairly often. What I read can be too much for me. So, I need to walk away for the sake of my emotional and spiritual health. There’s […]
Where is God when I lose?
My son had been practicing the Mozart piano concerto for three months. He’d put hundreds of hours into it. But when it came time for the competition, he made just a few mistakes. But they […]
Are white evangelical Christians racist?
I was raised in a very conservative Christian church. I remember at one point in the early 1980s my Dad saying he embraced the term Fundamentalist. The term has changed a lot since then and […]
Never color blind
I have poor eyes And always have. Both near and far away, Things blur into an indistinct haze. Corrective lenses offer a crisp clarity When I slide my glasses on. But I have never been […]
Dear Black America, I’m listening
The worst I’ve ever feared from a police officer is a traffic ticket. And the roughly ten times I’ve been pulled over, I’ve never worried about things escalating to the point of being removed from […]
The Naughty List meets Psalm 87
Some people rub us the wrong way. And in some cases, they’ve been rubbing us the wrong way for a long time. That history pulls us into negative patterns like ruts in dirt road. It’s […]
Social distancing & the call to holiness
We’ve been in a weird time where our culture has required us to separate ourselves from one another. At the same time, we’ve been incredibly focused on cleanliness. As a hospital chaplain, I wander all […]
The necessary violence of God
I like me the idea of pacifism and especially a nonviolent God. But human pacifism is impossible with a nonviolent God. Too many people have a theology centered on a God who cannot cause pain. […]
Praying for personal revival
Revival. The word inspires images of tent meetings and manipulative preachers for some. For others, it’s an image of God’s people waking up and coming fully alive while drawing others into the kingdom of God. […]
The in-between
Between the cross and the empty tomb Are the hours Of a strange Sabbath, A brutal pause, A death-filled rest, A peace-less peace. This is where we live our lives: One long Holy Saturday, Where […]
Empty
Emptiness echoes everywhere. I walk hospital halls Empty of visitors, Passing rooms Empty of patients Who have delayed their operations Till better days. I pass by parks With yellow taped play structures Empty of children, […]
Coronavirus & the problem of the “greater good”
The greatest evils in the world have been committed by those committed to a concept of the “greater good.” People are willing to commit small scale evils for personal gain or pleasure, but every large-scale […]
A view on coronavirus from inside the hospital
I’ve been working as a hospital chaplain for several years. It’s a unique job where almost every part of the hospital is open to me while the rest of those who work in the hospital […]
The undivided heart
Double-minded. A divided heart. Conflicting interests. A double life. These are some of the worst accusations the Scriptures and our culture can make against us. Saying one thing and doing another is evidence of a […]
How Coronavirus affects our mental health
Anxiety arises from knowing about something and being unable to do anything about it. And our globalized, always-on information era provides not just a deluge of information, but a deluge of anxiety as well. In […]
The Alliance (or, Hip deep in haters)
Middle school is hell. Insecurity it at an all-time high. And kids are just cruel. In seventh grade, one of my kids got in trouble for stabbing another kid with a pencil. It was wrong, […]