How do we take a project from initial idea to completed creation?  The world offers endless answers. None fully work.

Notice how time seems to accelerate the week after Thanksgiving? It’s the ever-present sense that, even though we just finished celebrating Thanksgiving, we’re already behind for Christmas.

I’ll admit it. I’m a big fan of the original Star Trek television and movie franchise. I’m referring to the ones with Captain Kirk, Spock, and Bones as played by William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelly. My favorite quote occurred when Spock would raise his eyebrow and say, “There are always possibilities.”

This Thanksgiving, as you recount what you’re thankful for—include this good news:

The Lord has appointed me to tell the good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort those whose hearts are broken, to tell the captives they are free, and to tell the prisoners they are released. (Isaiah 61:1 NCV)

We love discovering the protagonist’s origin story. It helps us understand how things began and why characters behave the way they do. It gives us empathy . . . and orientation. 

My counselor is in his eighties. Gary is one of the wisest, kindest, and most alive humans I’ve ever spent time with. During his more than fifty years of counseling thousands, he has seen it all. And he is certain that the deepest desire of every person is to be fully seen, known, and loved. 

Our world is growing more virtual every day. We spend greater amounts of time staring at our screens than interacting with real people . . . or engaging in real life.

When you get an invitation for a party, you don’t go the day the invitation arrives. You go on the day of the party.

We live in a world of two competing stories.
Story 1 is the original story Adam and Eve were created to live in

A to-do list is a great way to remember and prioritize all that must be done today. But it’s a terrible way to measure the success of a day.

Your voice isn’t simply the vibrational sound that comes out when you talk. It’s one of the most powerful aspects of who you are.

We live in a “just do it” world. Charge that hill now. Move that mountain today. By whatever means necessary. Don’t slow down to ask God. Just get it done. 

C. S. Lewis says, “The soul is but a hollow which God fills.” Which means if we don’t allow God to fill our soul, something else will. The world has endless options. 

So many headlines begin with: "Experts agree that ..."  A truer headline would be: "Those who've invested a lifetime in a specific way of thinking still agree with their own invested way of thinking."

A wise sage named Dallas Willard introduced me to the powerful spiritual practice of not always needing to have the last word in a disagreement or argument. Especially when you are right.

Why does November 11th bring such a smile to my face? By the end of this reading, you’ll know. And you may be smiling as well.

In a world where we can customize anything, we often try to do the same with God. We expect him to be on our timetable. To give us endless options. To make people and things abide by our plans.  

Our journey with God is never about the shortest distance between two points. It's about the journey from who we are to who we’re becoming.

If you want more peace in your day, try this simple practice.

One of my favorite movies is The Secret Life of Walter Mitty. It’s the story of a man who lives more in his head than reality.