An Advent Prayer by Henri Nouwen
Lord Jesus, master of both the light and the darkness, send your Holy Spirit upon our preparations for Christmas. We who have so much to do seek quiet spaces to hear your voice each day. We who are anxious over many things look forward to your coming among us. We who are blessed in so ...
Really!? Because This Changes Everything
“Christian spirituality is not a life-project for becoming a better person. It is not about developing a so-called deeper life. We are in on it, to be sure, but we are not the subject. Nor are we the action. We get included by means of a few prepositions: God with us (Matt. 1:23), Christ in ...
What are others saying about the Leadership Community?
There's something about all of this that nurtures my soul and I just desperately need this place of being real - with God, myself, others. Jennifer I am realizing my walk with God is not difficult. Pam I am realizing the quiet things that happen in my life are important. Shari This has allowed me ...
A Benign Way of Living
I heard it again this week. And it made me cringe. If you’ve been a Christian for any amount of time you’ve probably heard it hundreds of times. I think it’s a Christian cop out. Over coffee with a friend, we discussed the failing state of the economy particularly its impact on our own personal ...
A Grace Available
“I’m going in for a biopsy.” I could see the fear in her eyes and the concern on her husband’s face. The word “cancer” unspoken but hung thick in that corner of the café that day. No one signs up for this. “What if?” lurks under the surface of our hearts. The loss of a ...
There’s more going on than what you see.
Our walk with God will always, at some point, take us through darkness where life makes no sense. When these kinds of trials come, it’s often difficult to see beyond the trial. It clouds our perspective of God’s goodness, (“Does he really care about me?”); we question his power, (“Is God able to intervene in ...
The Wholehearted Life
A word that has been resounding with me lately is WHOLEHEARTED. Brene Brown brought it to light in her now famous TED talk and subsequent book, The Gifts of Imperfection. A secular researcher on shame and vulnerability, she made some startling conclusions. There was only one variable, she discovered, that separated the people who have ...
The Obedient Life – Not What You Think
“Obedience is the key!” shouted he radio preacher. Ugh, well, Jesus is the key but that got me thinking a lot about obedience. Obedience, for sure, plays a big part. Perhaps, however, not as we think. I know that just the mention of that word illicits a mixed bag of emotions, because it comes cloaked ...
Dancing with the Trinity
Gal. 5:25 – “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” “Keeping in step” indicates someone else is leading. It also means putting aside our agenda, our expectations, our control and relinquish ourselves to someone else’s lead. That means we are the followers, not the ones calling the shots. ...
Live Dead
Today's post is from a missionary guest I've invited to share on living beyond ourselevs to wholehearted devotion to Christ: "Send me anywhere, only go with me. Lay any burden on me, only sustain me. Sever any tie, but the ties that bind me to your service and to your heart." "The missionary heart: Care ...
Gail Johnsen 