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When Life Takes An Unexpected Turn

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  “Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans.” — Allen Saunders This week in the Daily Devos, we will be exploring how to remain resilient and hopeful when life deals us a lousy hand, when things fall apart, and when the plans we have made are shattered.   We have all had moments in life when the things we have planned go awry.  Each of us has had unexpected interjections into our carefully laid-out blueprints for how we want things to be, sending us spinning.   Most of us carry a vision of how we expect our lives to unfold. We imagine careers that will flourish, relationships that will endure, dreams that will materialize, and futures that seem almost certain. We make plans. We set goals. We tell ourselves stories about where life is heading. Then something happens. A diagnosis arrives. A relationship ends. A career changes unexpectedly. A loved one dies. A door closes that we were sure would open. The future we imagined suddenly dis...
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Wandering Toward Promise - Week 6: "Trading Away the Future"

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The Season of Pentecost & Summer Sermon Series These stores aren’t about perfect people. They teach us to trust God even when we cannot see the path ahead.   Today, we are going to read a story about sibling rivalry, a dysfunctional family, and how an impulsive decision shaped the history of an entire nation.    We live in a culture of immediacy.  We can order things on Amazon and have them arrive the same day.  We become frustrated when our favorite TV shows can't all be binge-watched, and we have to wait for the next episode.  We want what we want, and we want it now; we don't like to wait.   And sometimes, we are faced with decisions driven by our hunger or longing, and instead of being patient or surrendering to our outcomes, we take matters into our own hands, trading away what matters most for the lure of immediate satisfaction.   THE CHOICES WE MAKE IN MOMENTS OF HUNGER CAN SHAPE THE COURSE OF OUR LIVES Genesis 25:19-34 19...
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Wandering Toward Promise: Week 4 - The Mountain of Trust

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The Season of Pentecost & Summer Sermon Series These stores aren’t about perfect people. They teach us to trust God even when we cannot see the path ahead.   Today, we are going to be reading a story that is horrifying and confusing, but also one that teaches us what it means to trust God’s ultimate purposes.  In this story, Abraham is told by God to sacrifice his son, Isaac, and he very nearly does it.  So, is this a "text of terror," as some theologians call extremely problematic passages in the Bible, or is it something else?   And what do we do when we are faced with what seems like a terrible choice, no matter what we do?  When life seems incomprehensible... when we might feel as though we have no control... when we wonder if we really will have to give up what is most dear to us?   WE CAN TRUST GOD WHEN LIFE FEELS INCOMPREHENSIBLE   Genesis 22:1-14 After these things, God tested Abraham. He said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “...
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Living The Questions

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  “Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves... Live the questions now.” — Rainer Maria Rilke Years ago, I had a crisis of faith that shook me to the core, and left me reeling over what to believe about God, the Bible, Christianity, and the Church.   All of the certainty that I had felt about my beliefs came apart seemingly overnight.  It was one of the most disorienting times of my life, especially as a pastor who had to keep preaching every Sunday.   What I learned during that season of deconstructing and then reconstructing my faith was that certainty was something that had actually kept me from growing spiritually.   I also learned that living with questions, maintaining an openness to change, and embracing curiosity were challenging and scary, but also created a spiritual path that drew me closer to the Divine.   Most of us prefer answers. Answers feel secure. They provide clar...
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Holy Conversations

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  Children, be curious. Nothing is worse (I know it) than when curiosity stops. Nothing is more repressive than the repression of curiosity. Curiosity begets love. It wed us to the world." - Graham Swift Have you ever been in a conversation with someone and suddenly realized they aren't listening to a thing you are saying and are just waiting for you to pause so they can say what they want to say instead? It's annoying, right?  You can feel dismissed, ignored, diminished, and all manner of negative things in those moments, and it can lead to a conversation becoming an argument very quickly.  Here's a tough question for all of us: Have you ever been that person — the one not listening and waiting to interject?  Many of us have.  I know I've been that person before.  It's not that hard to slip into a non-listening mode when you feel that what you have to say is more important and on point than anything you are hearing.   Which is why embracing cur...
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Wonder As Worship

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  “Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson When my oldest son was small, one of the first questions that he learned to ask was "What's that?"  It sounded more like "What-at?" which sounded really cute the first dozen times he said it, but after a hundred times or so, it strained my patience.   But I recall doing my very best to answer him every time he asked.   We would be driving down the road, and I would hear him from the back seat asking, "What-at?" over and over again as we passed trees, buildings, bridges, signs, literally everything he could see from his car seat.   "What-at?"  "A tree."  "What-at?" "Another tree."  "What-at?" "A stop sign." "What-at?" "Yet another tree."  Children are naturally curious. They ask questions endlessly. Why is the sky blue? Where do stars come from? Why do b...
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Learning To See With New Eyes

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“Enjoy every step you take. If you're curious, there is always something new to be discovered in the backdrop of your daily life.” - Roy T. Bennett  One of the great moments in the TV series Ted Lasso comes when Ted wins a game of darts against the villainous ex-owner of the soccer team Ted is coaching.  He gives a speech about how people always underestimated him, but a quote from Walt Whitman kept the doubters from getting to him.   The quote was simply this:  "Be curious, not judgmental."   That scene has lived rent-free in my head for a long time, and I've watched it probably ten or more times as I've reflected on it.   Curiosity begins when we become willing to see the world differently. When we drop our judgments and jaundiced ways of seeing the world, we open ourselves up to curiosity and to wonder.   Most of us move through life on autopilot. We make assumptions about people, situations, and even God. Over time, those assu...
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