Lord, teach me. . . .

You’re never guaranteed about next year. People ask what you think of next season, you have to seize the opportunities when they’re in front of you. –Brett Favre My city, Cleveland, is a huge sports town. We have professional basketball, football and baseball, and each of those teams has a strong, hungry fan base. The Cleveland Cavaliers did manage to “win it all,” but the others. . . . Well, let’s just say we’ve had (more than) our share of disappointments. The Indians almost won the World Series last year. And the Browns. . . . Never mind. (The Browns' record continues to be perfect. 0-7.) Maybe next year. How often do we live out our spiritual calling the same way? Do we dream about tomorrow while puttering around today, wishing things were better than they are, but not doing anything about it? How do you suppose God feels about this? Paul reminds us that we are called to be the Hands and Feet of Jesus until he returns ( 1 Corinthians 12 ). There are peo...

The reality is, my prayers don't change God.  But, I am convinced prayer changes me.  Praying boldly boots me out of that stale place of religious habit into authentic connection with God Himself. --Lysa TerKeurst A group of dedicated believers has chosen October to be a month of prayer for the nation, culminating with the remembrance of those who have gone before, on All Saints’ Day (November 5). As we celebrate our commitment to being a united church family, fulfilling a promise of Jesus to the Father, it seems fitting to focus our minds and hearts even more , and perhaps imagine our prayers as outreach into the world. We have grown tremendously as a praying congregation. We pray as one heart, in private and even >gasp< in public! We are discovering that in praying for one another, our own deepest longings are often satisfied. Even more intriguing: we are seeing and sensing God’s Holy Spirit at work, in individuals and as a Family. It’s truly remarkable...

Instead of losing your energy on hating and fighting, strengthen it by enjoying and getting along. –Anonymous Facebook can be a wonderful, terrible, awesome, awful place (just like the real world). I have made marvelous friends there, some of whom I have never met face to face and likely never will. We laugh together; we mourn together. We celebrate each other’s achievements. We keep each other in line when we need it. But there is this other side to Facebook, as well, those people whom I don’t know who are friends of a friend—or maybe just trolls. They fly by, drop their little bombs, light my fuse and disappear. Oh, how easy it would be to respond in kind! It might feel so good to stoop to their level and give them a piece of my mind (except I haven’t a piece of my mind I can do without). . . . Except what, exactly would that accomplish in the bigger picture? Scripture reminds us that we are called, among other things, to beat our swords into plowshares (...

Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going too fast—you also miss the sense of where you are going and why. –Eddie Cantor The old adage tells us that if we need something done, we should ask a busy person to do it. But these days, it seems like everyone is just too busy to do anything. When we are racing around like our hair is on fire (figuratively speaking), the first thing well-meaning folks tell us is to “make some time for yourself.” How on earth is that supposed to happen? There are only 24 hours in a day! But this is actually very sound advice. Remember, if you’ve flown on an airplane, how the flight attendant reminds us to put on our own oxygen mask first— and then help younger or less able passengers? It’s like that. We cannot run on an empty tank. Jesus knew that, and modeled The Way for us in this practice, as well. Many times throughout the Gospels, we are reminded that Jesus went off by himself to pray. And especially, as th...