The Unhurried Word

Week 39 – Jesus and the Half-Court Miracle John 13-15 I’m sitting on some bleachers watching 8th graders play summer league basketball. The seats are purple and gold because the school mascot is the Royals and purple and gold are the indisputably right choice. What it more regal than purple and gold? Nothing. If you

Week 38 – Jesus and the Used-to-be-Blind-Guy John 9 One bright April Monday morning I took one of our sons out of school and took I-40 east toward Arkansas. He was mostly excited about skipping class and picking the snacks for our journey. I was excited because of what we were doing. Our goal was

Week 37 – Jesus and the Earthquake of Revelation John 5-8 I just finished having lunch with a man, a pastor, who was the pastor at the church where I grew up. He has known me since I was seven. Forty-three years. That’s a long time. He knows and loves my parents. He drank countless

Week 36 – Jesus and the Fig Tree of Destiny John 1 I hope you have a place where you sit to read the Bible. Not because places are magical (although maybe some of them are), but because places matter. They matter because we exist in time and space. Even the word “matter” matters! The

Week 35 – Shining Hope in the Sunless Abyss Job 41-42 It’s easy to lose hope. Like a stone dropped into the sea, the tragedies of life break the surface tension that keeps us afloat and we slip beneath the waves. If you’re right up next to shore, it may only be a few inches

Week 34 – God Comes to the Ash Heap Job 36-40 It is May. Thunderous, wonderous, May. Did you know this month has many names? MayCember. MayMas. Both nods to the insanity of December and the Christmas crazy. We call it Make it Through May. MITM. We often begin saying that in February. Every name

Week 33 – Elihu and the Cookies of Truth Job 31-35 We have a Life Group that meets in our home every week. They are our people. We know each other. Know our weaknesses and struggles. We speak in beautiful candor. We pray and laugh and cry and eat cookies and meditate on the Word

Week 32 – Whispers of Hope in the Fringes of His Ways Job 26-30 This has been a strange week in our little community. We had a baby dedication on Sunday. It’s a beautiful time where parents stand up with their precious little bundles of life and we as the ekklesia, the gathering of believers,

Week 31 – Face Flat on the Racetrack of Life Job 21-25 Have you ever been to a track meet? I went to one today for our youngest son. They began this meet at 3:00 in the afternoon. That’s 15:00 hours if you’re a military man. I am not. But the gentlemen in front of

Week 30 – Embers of Hope in the Ash Heap of Suffering Job 16-20 Our family loves movies. All kinds. For years we had a tradition on Friday night where we would pop a giant bowl of popcorn and slice apples and cut cheese into little kid-sized cubes so little fingers could grab them and