You don't have to be a Christian to want to worship; that's just human nature.  Ultimately, people want to know if there is something out there bigger than us. It’s why Emerson wrote, “Men love to wonder, and that is the seed of science.”

"Son, you are like the twelfth generation descendant of William Cash of Scotland.  He came over on a boat in the 1653.  Son, I’ve heard Billy was an ice cream person.  I am an ice cream person. My Dad—your Granddaddy—is an ice cream person.  Steady, we are ice cream people.  Your peeps are ice cream peeps."

You get a $19 discount if you booked a business class seat on the train and if the air conditioning is completely out in your car and it is hotter than h, e, blank, blank.

It ain't worth the $19.

Some of my neighbors know I’m in the ministry—but they’re not exactly sure what I do. I keep a pretty low profile, but my grass gives me away. That's because I have Christian grass—full of grace.

But, the problem is that I know that deep down inside, I am not a Stick Figure Daddy; I am, instead, a Seriously Flawed Daddy.  As my kids get older, they are going to realize this more and more.  My emotional and spiritual warts will begin to show up in the pictures of the SFD in their heads and hearts.

If you’ve been reading my rather long blog entries this past “memorial week,” I submit to you today two of my very favorite quotes...

“I have only made this letter longer because I have not had the time to make it shorter." (Letter 16, 1657)

Oswald was a gifted artist and musician, and pursued art as a career in his early years. Then he felt called to be a teacher. So he began teaching in London. Biddy took notes. When World War I began, they moved to Cairo, Egypt, and he taught soldiers. Biddy took notes.

Obedience gets a bad rap these days. It’s associated with fanaticism and wackadoodles. The dangerous thing about obedience is making others feel like crap when they don’t follow convictions God has laid on your heart. 

NO RESERVES

NO RETREATS

NO REGRETS

No one likes to be in need—whether it’s financial, emotional, physical or spiritual. We are taught to be self-sufficient at such an early age. Mimi taught me that grace cannot be earned. God doesn’t need us to do stuff to earn our way, for what can we do to impress the Creator of the universe?

When I’m asked the question about a historical person I’d love to meet, D. L. Moody is at or near the top of my list. I would have loved to watch him as he broke down social, racial, and spiritual barriers on the streets of Chicago.

“Do you believe that the God of Jesus loves you beyond worthiness and unworthiness? Beyond fidelity and infidelity? That He loves you in the morning sun and the evening rain. That He loves you when your intellect denies it, your emotions refuse is, your whole being rejects it? Do you believe that God loves without condition or reservation and loves you this moment as you are and not as you should be?”

“God takes the junk of our lives, and He makes the greatest art in the world out of it. And if He was cultured, if He was as civilized as most Christian people wish He was, He would be useless to Christianity. But God is a wild man. And, I hope that in the course of your life you encounter Him. But let me warn you, you need to hang on for dear life. Or let go for dear life maybe is better...”

My 14 year-old son is sitting in the chair next to me in my home office…

Here’s some picture-taking advice based on the past few weekends observing parents trying to capture images at: prom, end of the year parties, graduation, etc. ...

During a children’s sermon, a minister says, “I’m going to describe something, and I want you to raise your hand when you know what it is."

Is God big enough to heal your past? (Is He good?)

Is God big enough to handle your present? (Is He involved?)

Is God big enough to hold your future?  (Is He trustworthy?)

The hard part for the other trees is that when their leaves are falling or branches are pruned, they might look at Skinny Spruce and lament that they don’t look as good in and out of season.