We’re changing the way we approach our Sunday Morning Music posts. For the next several months, these posts will be authored by artists so you can get a glimpse into what inspires them. We hope you enjoy today’s post from our friend, Dave Barnes.
Last week, the inspirational pep talk from Kid President took your vote. Which is your favorite this week?
08Feb, 2013
Henri the painter is one of Steinbeck’s quirky characters in Cannery Row. He’s known for the unique and intricate boats he builds, often taking years to work on each one.
But there’s something odd about Henri. He never finishes a boat. When it’s almost completed, he takes it apart and begins anew, having no intention of ever putting the boat in the water. Two of his friends discuss his behavior…
07Feb, 2013
I love Eugene Peterson’s translation of Matthew 6:
Jesus says, “Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you life squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have.”
So here’s a confession. I often live in the darkness. I often do not trust people. In the world of Facebook and Twitter where you can get criticized on the hour, distrust is easy to build.
But the truth is…
06Feb, 2013
Have you ever considered that we are the best evidence of God’s creative expression? Forget snowflakes; just look at your friends.
The Bible wasn’t all about getting everybody lined up in order, thinking the same way about the same things. The religious people of the day thought that they had things figured out with rules upon rules, but they missed the point. Some religious people still do that today. They act as if the bible is a code of conduct; but it’s not. Instead, it’s a narrative about Jesus’ authority and the opportunity to do life with Him. The bible also isn’t about getting people to become Christians. It is the story about a God who made the world; how He interacted with it; how His creation drifted away from Him; and how God made a path back to [...]
05Feb, 2013
Occasionally I get criticized for being less public about my faith than others. This criticism always strikes me as odd because I’ve written six or seven books largely about faith, but nevertheless I understand where it’s coming from.
Many are willing to take public stands on issues, tweet daily scriptures, chime in on wide church arguments and so forth. I normally don’t, and that can at times seem as though I’m not willing to publicly identify my faith as loudly.
But nothing can be further from the truth…
People think it’s funny I love people so much. But the truth is, I only love them because they seem to love me. How can I not love them back?
I know a lot of dogs that growl at people and I notice people don’t like them that much. But if you are genuinely excited about people, genuinely amazed that they just walked into the room, it’s like they come alive for you. They’ll reach down and scratch you behind the ears or…
We’re changing the way we approach our Sunday Morning Music posts. For the next several months, these posts will be authored by artists so you can get a glimpse into what inspires them. We hope you enjoy today’s post from our friend, Sleeping at Last.
The story of the Long brothers won last week, no contest. And this week, we have another amazing batch of videos.
Most of us have experienced times when stories of other people’s victories leave us feeling angry or resentful instead of encouraged. Deep inside we have questions like, “Why doesn’t that happen for me?” “Why do my prayers seem to go unanswered?” We may even find ourselves avoiding their stories because they leave us feeling empty and alone. If this is where you are right now you’ve likely kept it hidden thinking that you shouldn’t feel this way and besides, you’re tired of hearing “easy” answers that don’t change anything. Ironically, the only meaningful answers begin where you are, not where you pretend to be. For the truth about hope is that it is usually discovered only when hope is lost. But to admit to losing hope is so frightening that we usually prefer staying hidden.
What if the answer is feeling the…
