What Happens Today

This is My Ugly Pour out your heart to him - psalm 62:8 Empty it completely. Leave nothing behind. Not one drop of bad attitude, not one secret sin, not a single dream or feeling of accomplishment. God wants it all, not for His sake, but for yours. You see, you can be honest with God. That hidden sin that nobody knows about? He sees it. The attitude you have towards your children, boss, or pastor? God hears it as if you were yelling it out at the top of your lungs. God knows it all, and he wants you to know He knows it all. Exposing our hearts has never been easy. Opening up can be scary. Who likes to be rejected? Our past hurts and rejections has helped to pay the salary of many a psychologist. But as any good counselor will tell you, holding it in, bottling it up, is a sure recipe for impending explosion. So pour it out; pour it out before God. The psalm I quoted at the opening actually begins with the words, "Trust in Him at all times, O people." One of the great

the pain of removing a sliver Nothing struck horror in the heart of my children more than their mother approaching them with a glistening silver needle between her fingers to remove a sliver from their finger. I know what they were probably thinking, (actually, what I thought as a child), "Leave it, it will grow out eventually. It's really not that painful." The thought of the process of removing the sliver brought more pain than the sliver itself. But, as parents, we knew the sliver needed to be removed to avoid the risk of infection and to remove the pain our children would feel every time something touched the area of their wound. Some things are just necessary, no matter how painful; necessary for us to function normally, necessary for us to be at our optimum us. The pain of rejection can be agonizing. The pain of rejection by someone in authority can be even more agonizing.  It is a sliver in our hearts.   It's one thing to be cast aside by a peer , but qu

Does God Speak? I like Start Trek, Voyager. I watch it at lunch time. Please don't think less of me for that. The episode I was watching today hit a chord in my heart. A group of humanoids were trapped in stasis, kept alive by a computer simulation that played a virtual reality in their minds through an advanced technology. Without these people noticing it, their deep seated fears gradually surfaced and became part of the simulation. Soon, their fear became so strong that it took the form of a clown and took over the simulation, ruling their minds mercilessly. They were trapped by their fears personified. Does God hear us when we pray? Does He speak to us? Well, He spoke to me through that episode of Star Trek; through a TV show some would call silly. Amazing what God can use to speak to us. I know one young lady who would agree with me. God can and does speak to us.  My daughter Heidi had some difficult decisions to make. Life course changes. Which option should she take

Anchor What anchors your soul? The question can be asked another way, what holds your hope? There's no shortage of promises out there that call to us, attempting to invoke the spark of optimism in our searching hearts. TV commercials are filled with products that claim to have the ability to fill, to satisfy, to meet our demanding expectations. I think most of us understand, though, that a type of deodorant will not really make the ladies swoon at our feet. I think most of us hope for something deeper and greater than the illusionary results gum, a car, or a vacation promise to offer. Gum loses its flavor, cars need repairs, and vacations end. So, if our hope is not in what we buy, what do we put our hope in? Good lives for our children? Will that satisfy; if we see our children educated, healthy, and safe? Maybe. That's a good thing to realize; but it is not guaranteed. Many have faced the distress of watching a wayward child sink into pain and suffering.  How about

Fixer-Upper I have a soft spot for houses that have potential, or as some people like to call them, fixer uppers. So does my daughter Kaity. She inherited that part of me. I look at a shack and see a mansion. I walk through overgrowth and see a beautiful garden. The viewed as hopeless thrills me; makes my what-could-be senses tingle.   Not everyone looks at a blank canvas and sees a masterpiece. Thank God. I'm grateful for those of us endowed with the gift of planning and practicality; those not afraid to ask the tough questions. This world needs not only dreamers, but anchors as well.  My wife and I recently went to look at a house that Kaity and her husband Paul were considering buying. We drove up the slight hill to the house, turned left (eyeing the neighbor's do not trespass sign) and parked on the property. I think my wife's heart may have sunk a little. My heart soared. She saw the work, the investment required, the dirty kitchen stove. I saw a brand new yard,