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 […]
Tag: Forgiveness
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 […]
Psalm 130
A rendering of Psalm 130, where the light of a new dawn offers hope that Yahweh will bring a new day during a dark time of life.
Psalm 103
(A David psalm.) Bless Yahweh, soul within me. Bless Yahweh, every cell within my body. Yes! Bless Yahweh, soul within me. Don’t for a moment forget How good you’ve got it because of him. He […]
Psalm 32
A rendering of Psalm 32, a David psalm, combining prayer and earned wisdom, stemming from confessed sin after a time of foolishly hiding it.
Psalm 51
A rendering of Psalm 51, a prayer of confession that moves from a self-focus to a God-focus and a desire to see other lives repaired as well.
Pressing the “do over” button (or, Bring on the Jubilee!)
I turn 49 today. Born 4 October 1967, I’ve been gathering baggage for a long time now. Most of it is good baggage that I gratefully carry around with me. Wonderful life experiences of traveling to […]
What do I do when forgiveness feels impossible?
I didn’t get much sleep last night. Memories of slander and of shunning and contempt aimed at someone I love had me wrestling with bitterness and anger. Feelings of hurt and anger are nothing new. […]
Celebrating marriage — including the dark parts
“Marriage is the hardest thing I’ve ever done.” I was sitting in Eugene Peterson’s class on Ephesians at Regent College when he said those words. He didn’t elaborate and I think I missed the rest […]
Unforgiven
I love the Lord’s Prayer — except for one phrase. There’s one line in it that trips me up. It’s the second half of “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” I rely […]
Tom Brady, cheating, and forgiveness
So, Tom Brady got away with cheating. At least, that’s how all but New England Patriots fans see things. It doesn’t matter that he didn’t need to have his personally selected footballs deflated in order […]
Get over it!
If you’re an adult, you’ve had experiences where people have said and done hurtful things to you. I have. We all have. They were painful. They were inappropriate. But they’re over. Done. Gone. In the […]
I don't care how you feel. Just do the right thing.
As a parent, one of my jobs is getting my kids to do things they don’t want to do, because they simply need to do them. It’s a frustrating job, but we parents do it […]
Life after Mom — Sufjan Stevens and how to forgive your parents
I got a phone call after midnight last night. It was my Dad. My Mom had fallen down and he needed my help getting her up. So, I quickly got dressed and walked over to […]