On May 10, 2019, our friend Jan Peterson died, joining her husband and my mentor, Eugene Peterson, just seven months after his death. Jan lived much of the last three decades of her life in […]
Tag: wisdom
Psalm 119 (J is for Yodh)
A rendering of the tenth stanza of Psalm 119, where each verse starts with the Hebrew letter Yodh (verses 73-80). A further exploration into hearing the Voice of God.
Psalm 25
(A David psalm.) Accept my soul, Yahweh, All of it. I’m handing it over to you. Be worthy of my trust, God, Because I’m looking to you to save me From shame, From disgrace. Congruence […]
Psalm 119 (A is for Aleph)
A rendering of Psalm 119:1-8, where each verse begins with the Hebrew letter aleph and delights in God’s life-giving words.
Worship is practical
Worship is practical. But not because preachers provide lessons on life in sermons. Worship is practical because it reorients our lives toward God. A God-orientation isn’t airy-fairy and otherworldly. If God is the most basic […]
How to not live a stupid life
There are some people who seem to attract trouble like nails attract hammers. They simply get pounded by trouble over and over again. I love the old John Cleese TV show Fawlty Towers, but my […]
The wisdom of worship
The Psalms is a wonderfully diverse compilation of Israel’s praise. It gathers glorious creation hymns and salvation thanksgivings together with a heaping pile of laments. And scattered throughout this sprawling mixtape are bits of what is […]
A nation divided & the wisdom of Abraham Lincoln
A few years ago, I had the chance to walk part of the Mall in Washington, D.C., and spend time in the Lincoln Memorial. Along with the huge and stunning sculpture of this gaunt giant […]
Psalm 119 — Real wisdom for real life
What does the best kind of life look like? And how can we live it? If there are any questions worth pursuing, it’s these. Psalm 119 has an answer. This massive, 176-verse wisdom psalm is […]
Ignoring the wisdom of the past at the expense of our future
I’m not a curmudgeon. I don’t get sentimental about the supposedly good old days. I don’t gripe about kids these days. This world has always been a marvel and a mess. Kids have always been […]