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Oh Blessed Vice

It is true that God can use all things for our good - even our sin and brokenness. St. Augustine would call sin his blessed vice because he knew his sin would drive him back to the foot of the cross - relieving him from the heavy burden of it. This is the beauty and…

They say the best revenge is living well and while I don't advocate revenge, I do encourage people to live well, to live fully. This is another instalment of the 45 Things we can do to live well! Living well, not being hung up on the petty things of life can help us live more…

Jesus said He would never leave us or forsake us and this is such a powerful promise and one central to the incarnational nature of the Christian faith. We are exhorted and encouraged with the promise of Christ in us, the hope of glory and yet so many of us live like we are all alone. How many…

A farmer walks into the local diner. He sits down, wipes the sweat from his brow, and orders a coffee. The diner is a buzz with other locals talking about everything from the state of the economy to politics and how the crops were coming along. The banter was lively and folksy as the farmer's…

The great philosopher Soren Kierkegaard once suggested that life is best understood looking backwards, but it must be lived forwards. A conundrum for sure, for how many of us would like to know how things will work out before we start instead of afterwards! Regardless, while we can’t know every last detail of our future,…

Money, fancy cars, big homes, power, and fame - We all seem to hold certain cultural ideas of success. However, throughout various stages of life, in practical terms, our ideas of success changes. I came across this short story and in a silly way it speaks to our ideas of what exactly success is over a…

Leveraging Conflict for Healthier Community

The following is an excerpt from my book "Becoming Love. Avoiding Common Forms of Christian Insanity". In this brief section I begin to explore how to steward conflict in church communities with love. _______________________________ In the context of the Love Paradigm the Church community is a reflection of the Kingdom of God, if only as through…

We continue with our 45 things we can do to live well and this installment is good ol' fashioned horse sense. Ever wonder how cliches came to be? I think cliche' are great "suitcase" sayings that are a simple way of expressing a bit of wisdom that has been found to be helpful through the…

Daniel Pink was voted one of the top 50 influential business thinkers in the world in 2011 and his book Drive: The Surprising Truth of What Motivates Us capitalizes on 50 years of behavioral science to reveal some surprising insight as to what indeed actually motivates us. For straightforward, mechanical tasks, a financial reward is…

The statistics have been reported in many places, and for many, about half of all marriages will fail. This is not another heavy for those who have been kicked around the Church because they’re divorced. The reality is life happens, and I don’t believe for a moment anyone decides to get married intending they will…

Blog

Oh Blessed Vice

45 Things to Live Well (20-25)

The Present Presence of God

Faith Spelled R-I-S-K: Living Life.

Finding God in Real Life

Success is …

Leveraging Conflict for Healthier Community

45 Things to Live Well (16-20)

What Motivates Us?

50 Shades of Love :: Marriages