Category Archives: Spiritual Growth

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Wilderness

The Mountains Are Calling…

John Muir once said, “The mountains are calling, and I must go.” They are… And I am going…

Wilderness 2019

Almost every year in October, I go to the mountains outside of Colorado Springs for a ministry retreat hosted by Christ In Youth. It’s called Wilderness, and it is one of the foundational parts of my spiritual formation each year.

I missed Wilderness last year. We were just a few days away from moving from Cabool to Sedalia, Missouri, and the timing just wasn’t right. With this retreat being the first week of October each year, and our move scheduled for the last week of that month, it just wasn’t a possibility. And as much as it couldn’t be helped, I still regret the fact that I messed it.

But not this year. In just a couple of days, our youth minister and I will meet up with a couple of other guys from southeast Kansas and head for the Rocky Mountains, to Bear Trap Ranch.

It will be a great time of refreshing renewal, and one that is much needed.

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Gardens, Weeds And Lawn Mowing

How A Broken Elbow Can Help You Grow In Your Faith

Our church took a bunch of guys on a Men’s Retreat a couple of months ago to Discovery Ministries, near Eminence, Missouri. While we were there, I slipped and fell, and cracked a bone in my elbow. The recovery has been teaching me some important lessons.

Lawn Mowing

I really don’t have a very good story about how it happened. The state park at Johnson Shut-Ins was open, but the roads in the park were closed to vehicles because of the high waters. Park staff told us we were able to walk back to the shut-ins, though, so we decided to go.

At one point, there is a marshy fen area, which was flowing over the roadway. It was mossy, and I tried to gingerly step through it, but slipped on that moss and went down. I landed on my elbow, giving it a slight fracture, and some further injures that didn’t show up until later. As it turns out, that fall caused some nerve damage that may take several months to fully heal. In the meantime, my left arm is weak, lacks precise motor functions in a couple of fingers, and is either numb or on fire with that “pins and needles” feeling.

It’s actually kind of frustrating and annoying more than anything else, because I can’t do all the things that I’m used to doing.

In the meantime, it’s spring, and we have a yard full of grass, and a garden full of vegetables… and weeds. And I can’t really do anything about it. I want to mow the yard. I want to weed the garden. I want to get outside and do those kinds of things but I can’t right now.

And yet, those things are still getting done. Several people have stepped in to help me out with those things. A couple of guys from our church have been over to help my son with the lawn care, and my wife has been maintaining the garden on her own.

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The Continuing Impact Of Short Term Mission Trips

What I Learned About God From A Ministry In Arizona

One of my favorite places on this earth is the White Mountains of Arizona. It’s arid. It’s dry. But it’s beautiful, because of both the scenery and the people who live there.

Arizona Sunset

For almost two decades, I have been connected with a ministry that exists in that area of Arizona. That ministry reaches out to the White Mountain Apaches and, to a lesser degree, the Navajo people who live in the area.

In the summer of 2001 or 2002 — I can’t even remember what year — I took a group of teens and adults from our church in Indiana to American Indian Christian Mission. That was the beginning of what would become a long relationship, although I didn’t know it then. Our group had an incredible time, and the impact we made was big, no doubt. But the impact on our own lives was far, far greater.

Since that trip, I have been able to take multiple groups to AICM, both teens and adults, over the years. And each time, it left an indelible mark upon my life. One community in particular, the small town of Cibicue, is especially dear to me. I visited that town on that very first trip, and have managed to make it back there almost every time since.

Cibicue is a small town, and it suffers from the same sense of hopelessness and despair as much of the rest of the White Mountain Reservation. Drugs, alcohol, abuse, and suicide are rampant, and a ministry such as AICM offers hope that otherwise might not be found there.

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The Words Of My Mouth

A Daily Prayer From Psalm 19:14

There are times when I am reading through the Bible and a particular passage seems to reach out and smack me. Has this ever happened to you? It’s rather disconcerting and refreshing all at the same time.

The Words Of My Mouth

I strive to spend some time daily in the book of Psalms. As I have grown older (and hopefully, grown more mature), I have found that if Scripture consisted of nothing more than the Psalms, I could be content with that. I’m not downplaying the rest of God’s Word. It’s all inspired, and it’s all useful. And I love many, many different parts of it.

It’s just that I have found, especially recently, that the book of Psalms seems to contain most of what I seem to need at this season of my life. It gives me the encouragement I need, from passage such as Psalm 106, or Psalm 95. I receive reminders of God’s love for me in passages like Psalm 100. There are passages like Psalm 23, which comforts me and reassures me of God’s presence.

The Psalms give me the challenges that I need to grow, they convict me in areas that I fall short, and they strengthen my resolve to stay as closely connected to God as I can.

Not too long ago, I came across this passage in my reading of the Psalms. I’d encourage you to go read the whole chapter, but look especially at Psalm 19:14.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.

What an incredible idea to keep before myself daily!

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Unoffendable

Living Without Offense In Our Current Culture

One of the classes at our church started a new study this week called Unoffendable. The premise is based on a book of the same name, written by Brant Hansen, and we are using the book as a springboard for discussion in the class.

Unoffendable

As we started off the class last weekend, we discussed the topic of anger, and compared personal anger to social anger, to injustice, and to the concept of forgiveness that Jesus clearly defines in Scripture.

I’m looking forward to reading through the book to see what the author has to say on these subjects. After our first discussion, I was challenged in my own thinking. Let me give you an example of how I might need to review how I approach this idea.

I have always had a short temper, and controlling my anger is something I have struggled with over the years. I’m pretty sure I’m better at this than I was a few years ago, but I know I still have a long way to go. In Ephesians 4:26, Paul says, “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger.” But the question comes down to just what he means by this.

Does he mean that we are not to get angry? Is anger a sin? Or does he mean that when we do get angry, we are to make sure we handle it in a sin-free, appropriate manner? Is anger is a common human emotion, something we all deal with as emotional beings? Or is it something that comes straight from our fallen nature?

And what about righteous anger? Is there such a thing? Or is that simply our excuse to be angry and justify it? Can we be motivated about such things as injustice and the brokenness of the world without being angry? Can we handle those kinds of things without giving in to anger?

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One Word 365 – 2019 Edition

Finding One Word To Live By For 2019

For several years now, I have chosen one word by which I strive to live by for the year. I have never had much luck with resolutions at the beginning of a new year, and have much greater success by choosing a single word to make the focus of my personal growth for the next twelve months. I feel that I am able to become more of who I want to be, and more of who Gods wants me to be in this way.

One Word 365 - 2019 Edition

Over the past few years, I have chosen several words that have had a similar base to them. Last year, I chose to live “unhurried.” And the year before that, I chose to live in the “present.” Both of those stemmed from the feeling that God wanted me to live much more focused that I have been, and to set aside some things that, while being good things, were consuming much of my time and energy. This year’s word is along a similar vein.

I won’t go into details about all the words I have chosen to live by over the years (If you want to read through some of my other choices, and my reasons for them, here is a brief list). However, I will share with you that I believe that God is leading me to choose words words with similar concepts for a reason. I think he is continuing to grow me in these areas, and helping me to become more of the person he desires me to be.

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Coming Home For Christmas

Celebrating The Birth Of Christ In A New Location

I have moved several times throughout my life, mostly ministry related. It always takes some time to get settled in and acclimated to a new place. But this move has been a little bit different.

Coming Home For Christmas

I don’t really know what it is. It could be that the ages of some of our kids are older. Maybe it is because my wife and I are older. Perhaps it’s the home repair issues we have had to deal with, or the car accident that occurred shortly after we moved. Or, it could be the proximity to the holiday season. Whatever the case, I feel like we just haven’t gained our equilibrium after the move to Sedalia.

I’m not sure what is causing this (actually, I think I do. More on that in a minute). We just seem to be slow in getting settled in. Boxes are still not unpacked. Stuff still hasn’t been put away or hung on the walls. We just feel out of sorts.

During this transition, and in the weeks leading up to it, I felt the leading of God like never before. So I am absolutely certain that he has been right in the midst of this. Which leads me to believe that the unsettled feelings we have been experiencing are an attack by the enemy to discourage us and keep us off balance. The enemy is keeping us from making this house a new home.

As a result, I have been doing some studies through the Bible on people who have moved, such as Abram, who left home for an entirely new country. Or Jesus himself, who moved from Nazareth to establish his home base in Capernaum. What was home like for people such as these? How did they rely upon the Father fully during such times of upheaval? What does the Bible have to say about the concept of home?