Reflections

Final Judgment: The God you didn’t make up

Final Judgment: The God you didn’t make up

One bible story I remember learning about as a child in Sunday School is the Tower of Babel. Perhaps I remember this story because of the funny-sounding word for what we hear when someone doesn't stop talking. If so, I may have missed how closely this word can fit my...

Re-born: How can we be born again?1

Re-born: How can we be born again?1

Photo courtesy of Faithworks.life blog I don't know about you, but the images of planes flying into buildings are on repeat in my head this week. Perhaps the prediction made by George W. Bush that these images will remain in our heads forever came true for me. But,...

Favorites: What was God thinking?1

Favorites: What was God thinking?1

Afghan soldiers walk through a destroyed building reportedly linked to Osama bin Laden, then the leader of al-Qaeda, in 2002 on the outskirts of Kandahar, Afghanistan. (Apichart Weerawong/AP) This week we remember the events of September 11 that took place 20 years...

Thirsty1: Confusing wells with water

Thirsty1: Confusing wells with water

South Vietnamese civilians try to scale the 14-foot wall of the US Embassy in Saigon, hoping to reach evacuation helicopters as the last Americans departed from Vietnam on April 29, 1975 -- AP Despite the resurgence of infections of COVID, the pandemic is not the lead...

Empty: Dark night of the soul

Empty: Dark night of the soul

In her book, Learning to Walk in the Dark, Barbara Brown Taylor shares the highlights of the story of a man known as John of the Cross. A Friar and founding member of a renegade order called the Carmelite, John is best know for his classic work, The Dark Night of the...

Holy Envy: Coming this September

Holy Envy: Coming this September

A Fresh Look at Worldview: Emerging Worldviews 1 … Colson Center September is the traditional month for back-to-school. The school supplies and clothes sales began a couple of months ago in anticipation of a rush to dress and equip children for the occasion. So it’s...

Nada: Embracing dark emotions

Nada: Embracing dark emotions

It’s been 13 years since my dad passed away. Four years since my mom died. I lost one of my brothers to cancer only a year ago, and my first grandson died before his first birthday seven years ago. Grief is an emotion that all humans have in common. The differences...

Nightmares: Afraid of the dark

Nightmares: Afraid of the dark

Cyndi and I invested in a trail cam this summer. Some creature was eating the tops of our pole beans, leaving a few stubs with little hope for a future harvest. And our lettuce becomes a salad bar while we're not watching. We suspect that at night our garden became an...

Perfect storm: Watching out for sparrows

Perfect storm: Watching out for sparrows

The sky in Denver was hazy from wildfires on Tuesday as children cooled down in a fountain. Credit: David Zalubowski / Associated Press Each morning I look at a weather map that includes fronts and radar images of precipitation. Most days, the map of North America is...

Night vision: Coming August 1

Night vision: Coming August 1

It is no wonder that so many of us are struggling with some form of re-entry anxiety. I know that I'm eager to return to a different normal than I've experienced during the pandemic. But at the same time, I'm hesitant, given the issues we're facing, including racism,...

A Community in Love with God, Each Other, and our Neighbors.