Charisa Stories

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He Knew He Was Loved

A little over fifteen years ago youngest son and dog lover Brett called from Baylor University. He had spotted three abandoned puppies along the side of a Waco road. He tried to round them up but could only catch one. Brett called to let me know that he intended to bathe, feed, and care for the pup over the weekend. He told me he planned to take him to the Humane Society on Monday for adoption. I knew I was in trouble when Brett decided to let me know what his rescued puppy looked like.

I called the lovely Mrs. Burchett. “He is working me,” I told Joni. “He is falling in love with this dog.” On Sunday I was driving through Waco and I stopped to see Brett and his alleged short term friend. The way this puppy followed Brett around and looked at him was astounding. He appeared to sense that Brett was, for him, the canine version of Amazing Grace. That sweet puppy seemed to understand that he once was lost and now was found. Maybe if we remembered our dramatic rescue along the side of the road to destruction we might gaze at our Rescuer more consistently with that look of adoration.

I also started falling in love with this adorable mutt and concluded that our family dog population had just increased. Brett was scheduled to take the newly named “Trigger” to the vet for shots and a checkup on Monday. On that day another phone call came. Trigger had become violently ill overnight. The scourge of many abandoned puppies seemed to have attacked this sweet little ragamuffin puppy. Trigger had contracted Parvovirus. Brett’s words were heartbreaking in their honesty and love.

“Dad, I don’t think he is going to make it. But at least he knew he was loved for a few days.”

Okay. I cried at Old Yeller. I am a soft touch. But that remark from my youngest touched my heart and made me think that this is a microcosm of ministry. Sometimes it is heartbreaking. The results don’t always match our desires. But if we can love the down and out like Jesus at least they know they have been loved and they will know the source of that love.

For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
“Then these righteous ones will reply, `Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?’ And the King will tell them, `I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’ (Matthew 25, NLT)

The results are not guaranteed when you minister to the least of these. But when we do minister to the least of these we show them the very face of Jesus.

This rescue story had a happy ending. Trigger was in the hospital for 12 days of intravenous feeding and medication. I earned hundreds of airline miles on my MasterCard thanks to Trigger. He and Brett went on to be best buddies for fifteen years.

This month Brett and his fiance Sarah said goodbye to Trig. You never know how acts of kindness will turn out. This improbable rescued mutt blessed Brett with years of companionship and joy. And from that first weekend until his last moment Trigger knew he was loved.

Trigger’s story was one of my first blogs about the amazing connection we have with our canine friends and the spiritual lessons they teach us. My book Stay: Lessons My Dogs Taught Me about Life, Loss, and Grace is the result of that journey. Trig was a wonderful part of our family. He will be missed.

June 28, 2021
The Legacy of a Loving Father

Singer Dan Fogelberg was one of my favorite singer/songwriters. Today I thought about a song written about his dad called “Leader of the Band”. Fogelberg’s father was a musician and he passed that talent down to Dan. Parts of the lyric made me think of my Dad in his final years..

The leader of the band is tired and his eyes are growing old
But his blood runs through my instrument and his song is in my soul

I thank you for the music and your stories of the road
I thank you for the freedom when it came my time to go
I thank you for the kindness and the times when you got tough
And, papa, I don’t think I said ‘I love you’ near enough

My Dad knew how much I loved him. Still I wish I had told him more. But this is the portion of the song that continues to impact me as a son.

My life has been a poor attempt to imitate the man
I’m just a living legacy to the leader of the band

My Dad was a wonderful, kind, loving, and flawed man. I have the flawed part down. I hope I am following his legacy of joy, kindness and love that he modeled so well. I realize with each passing year how much the leader of the pack impacted me. Every dad impacts the lives of their children. Children listen only sometimes but they are always watching. My Dad probably never realized how closely I was watching.

The last time I saw my father he left me with a memory that will stay with me till I join him in eternity. His condition had worsened considerably after a stroke. When I walked into the hospital room Dad’s eyes came alive and he grabbed my hand with an intensity that clearly communicated that he knew me.

Our family had encountered one difficult employee at the hospital. She had done nothing helpful and she had done nothing with a bad attitude. I looked at my sister Sherry as I held my Father’s hand and said, “We don’t have to take that crap!” To my surprise out of that shell that was my Dad came a very clear and loud response…”I taught you that!”

Those were the final words that he spoke to me. And yes…you did teach me that Dad. And you taught me a whole lot more. You taught me that all of God’s children are to be valued unrelated to color or position. That everyone is important and deserves to be treated with dignity.

You taught me the concept of grace. When I was in junior high I somehow manage to establish “credit” at a hobby store. I ran up a debt that was monumental in those days. When you found out I was terrified. But you taught me that grace means unmerited forgiveness for obvious guilt. You taught me there is a difference between mistakes of ignorance and willful wrongdoing. You taught me what forgiveness looks like and what it means for someone to pay for your mistakes out of unconditional love with no strings attached. I got a little foretaste of how Jesus would pay a debt for me that I could not pay later on in my life.

You taught me that humor is a gift from God. That laughing at life and especially at your self makes it a whole lot easier to deal with daily frustrations.

You taught me a lot Dad. And I will be forever grateful. Perhaps most importantly, you taught me what it looks like to be ready to die. You taught me how to put your family at ease by clearly and consistently letting us know that you were ready to meet Jesus.

God’s Word consistently paints an image of God as our Father. Many people struggle with that picture because they can only relate to an angry, dominating or selfish father. I am so grateful that I had a dad that helped me to understand the real love of a father and what that means when God says I am His child. But I pray that you will believe the love our Father in Heaven even if the earthly role model was not ideal.

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!
And that is what we are! –1 John 3:1

That is what we are! A child of God our loving Father. That is a pretty good thing to meditate on today.

June 20, 2021
Please Play This Song BEFORE Posting or Tweeting
I have teased for years that I want to develop an app that asks you to pause and pray before you hit send. Failing that, maybe I can convince you instead to play a song recorded by Glen Campbell. The lyrics are from a poem written by Edgar Albert Guest in 1914. Guest immigrated from England in 1891 at the age of 10. He was a newspaper reporter for the Detroit Free Press before becoming a syndicated author of poetry. He became known as the “Peoples Poet” and was said to have published a new poem everyday for 30 years. His works were not critically acclaimed but they connected with the public. Fifty-one years after Guest published “A Creed” the words were put to music by Glen Campbell in a song titled “Less of Me”. (Click on the link to hear it)

Let me be a little kinder,
Let me be a little blinder
To the faults of those around me,
Let me praise a little more.

Just implementing that stanza alone would change the tenor of Twitter immeasurably. I have been thinking a lot about how Americans have allowed social media to divide us. It is especially disappointing that followers of Jesus demonize people over social media posts. Allow me to make my point before canceling me. I know that outrageous and often mean things are posted on social media. Sometimes they are posted by people that I consider to be acquaintances or even friends. Here is the strategy that I am proposing to deal with such posts.
1. Pray for the person posting it. A social media post is an unfortunately permanent reminder of a moment in time. It could be something said in a moment of anger, sadness, frustration, or hurt that doesn’t represent the heart of the poster.
2. Snooze a friend instead of lose a friend. Facebook allows you to snooze a friend for 30 days. You won’t see their posts for that period of time. I snooze them because I do not want to unfriend someone over a post I don’t like.
3. Remember that person is created in the image of God. Maybe they are saying and acting in a way that is disappointing but they are loved by their Creator.
Those on the other side of angry social media discourse are not unlike us. When we fight the cultural war we need to remember that the whole purpose of Jesus invading our space and time was to love and ultimately die for those on both sides of the battle. God’s grace is available to everyone and every single person reading this blog today has thought, said, or posted something that they regret (or should regret).

Perhaps the biggest lesson for Christians should be how the power of a unified focus on Jesus can unite even bitter enemies. My heart aches as I see Christians splitting ranks over things that don’t amount to a hill of beans on an eternal scale. I picture Jesus weeping over the churches of America like He wept over Jerusalem. I picture Him weeping over how Christians in this country divide over non-essentials and fail to communicate the joy and life-changing power of the good news of the Gospel. The culture war is important but temporal. The war for our soul is eternal. I sometimes wish I could excise this passage from Scripture but here it is and I can’t ignore it.

““You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. ⁴⁴But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! ⁴⁵In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. (Matthew 5:43-45, NLT)

How is that even possible? It is not possible in my own power. I must trust God for that to occur. I must believe that He is working in the heart of those I disagree with, in my heart, or maybe both of us to focus on what matters. I need to trust that God will ultimately see that justice prevails. I am called to love and be a light for the Gospel.

If Paul were writing to the church today he might change this verse a bit from the original version to the Galatians.

For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. ²⁷And all who have been united with Christ in baptism have put on Christ, like putting on new clothes.²⁸There is no longer Jew or Gentile, progressive or conservative, complementarian or egalitarian. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.

The point is that our only unity is in Christ. The hill that Jesus died on was the hill of salvation by grace. He allowed Himself to be put there to accomplish God’s plan for salvation. That is the hill worth dying on.

The poem continues with these words.

Let me be a little meeker
With the brother that is weaker,
Let me think more of my neighbor
And a little less of me.

C.S.Lewis wisely said this about humility.

“Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.”

The poem finishes with this stanza.

Let me toil, without complaining,
Not a humble task disdaining,
Let me face the summons calmly
When death beckons me away.

When death beckons me away I pray that my legacy will be proclaiming grace and displaying grace. My final lap mission statement agrees with Paul in the book of Acts.

But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God. (Acts 20:24, NLT)

Want to join me?
June 14, 2021
God’s Lessons from HGTV?

During the pandemic I was forced to expand my television viewing experiences. Joni loves HGTV and I slowly began to embrace it as well. Don’t worry men, I balanced it with the NFL Network. I loved to watch Hometown with Ben and Erin Napier as they restored old homes in Laurel, Mississippi. One of their signatures is taking an item that would normally be trashed and repurposing it into something beautiful.

I watched Ben and Erin see the beauty in something I would throw away without thinking twice. And then it occurred to me that God is the ultimate repurposer. God can take lives that are broken and even ugly and repurpose them into something beautiful. Satan lies that God can’t use someone like you. The author of lies says you have no value to God. But our loving Heavenly Father sees the beauty in your broken life. In fact, it is times of brokenness when He is most ready and willing to repurpose your life. Just when you are feeling like your life is worthless here is what the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit whispers to you.

You are my child.
I love you.
You are uniquely designed for a role only you can fulfill.

In Ephesians Paul encouraged the new followers of Jesus with these words.

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the
good things He planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:10, NLT)

Did you get that second part? God isn’t scrambling to come up with some trivial task for you to feel better about yourself. God planned before you existed things that only you can do for the advancement of His plan. How exciting is that? Another amazing gift of grace.

In His infinite mercy God does not reveal the ugliness of my heart in one gigantic and loveless revelation that would destroy me. He chooses instead to gently chip away at the rough edges of pride, selfishness, and disobedience. The famous artist Michelangelo would often select a block of marble that others thought unworkable and then begin carving that ugly hunk of rock. He once remarked, “I saw the angel in the marble and I carved until I set him free.” That is what God’s grace means to me. He sees the beauty in the stubborn piece of rock that is me. And He sees the beauty that no one else sees. He lovingly and gently carves away the ugliness until a little beauty begins to come through. But He never gets angry and gives up if another strata of ugly crops up.

As I was writing this an old song from my past came to mind.

Something beautiful, something good
All my confusion He understood
All I had to offer Him was brokenness and strife
But he made something beautiful of my life

For five decades God has been oh so lovingly and patiently making something beautiful of my life. If my time ends soon and folks have anything kind to say about me please let them know this truth.

It was Jesus who made something beautiful of my life.

Waking Up Slowly is a 21 Day Journey to become more connected to God and one another. Check it our here.

June 6, 2021
Rethinking Ministry

I can’t quit thinking about my friend Brad Johnson who passed away way too early (in my view) at the age of 57. What I can’t get out of my mind is the staggering impact he had in the lives of hundreds of people. God is using his homecoming to show how He can use a selfless and Christ-centered servant.

Brad did not check off the typical boxes we have for big ministry success. He was not a well known preacher. No books or highly listened to podcasts. A modest social media presence. A lead pastor role that did not work out well. A period when he could not find a “ministry” job and worked at an ethanol production plant to support his family. Praise God he finally landed in a loving community at Hillcrest Evangelical Free Church that valued Brad Johnson’s remarkable relational skills.

So how does this resume produce literally hundreds of stories of how Brad loved, encouraged, instructed, counseled, and shared the life changing message of grace? The answer is actually simple.

Faithfulness.

I know the struggles that Brad had over the years as he moved from place to place. He often wondered why he could not find a place to plant deep roots and preach the freedom giving Gospel of grace and identity in Christ. But he always did one thing consistently through times of joy and times of despair.

He served and cared about others.

Brad learned the lesson that the best way to forget your problems is to serve others with kindness, acceptance, and love. Immersing yourself in the lives of others is messy, sad and difficult. And in a great paradox of our faith, it is the most fulfilling thing you can do. Oswald Chambers talked about the God’s evaluation system and how different it is from our culture.

“The real test of a saint is not one’s willingness to preach the gospel, but one’s willingness to do something like washing the disciples’ feet – that is, being willing to do those things that seem unimportant in human estimation but count as everything to God.”

Paul wrote to the Church at Philippi about the importance of selfless serving.

Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well. (Philippians 2:3-4, NET)

God puts opportunities to love and care for others in my path all the time. Sometimes I see them and respond. Sometimes I see them and make excuses why I can’t help. Sometimes I am simply too self-absorbed to see anything but my own problems. Martin Luther King had a wonderful quote that convicts me to be more open to the Holy Spirit’s gentle leading.

“The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: “If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?” But the good Samaritan reversed the question: “If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?”

It was the humble and culturally disregarded Samaritan that had a heart to help. I think that was Brad’s heart. His life is causing me to reevaluate my ministry.

I love writing my books and blogs. I hope that some things I have written have been helpful. I plan to continue writing because it forces me to examine my heart and it keeps me from binge watching Mr. Ed reruns on TV. But I am asking the Lord to increase the personal discipleship and mentoring aspect of my ministry. Brad Johnson demonstrated that there is no more impactful representation of Christ than caring enough to walk with a brother or sister through the ups and downs of life. Brad made you feel like the most important person in the room. He wept when you were sad and laughed like few could when things were good. Brad walked with people without condemnation. He was a person you could share everything, good and bad, and he would love you more for the telling. That is the kind of discipleship that initiates lasting and real change.

Brad’s humble and relational ministry produced enough fruit to fill a Kingdom Farmers Market. You don’t need a counseling degree to love and care for others. You don’t need a seminary degree to walk with someone through life’s challenges with grace and acceptance. You don’t need special training to be fully present to serve others selflessly.

Brad’s wife Deb told me that Brad sometimes lamented that he didn’t have a more prominent pulpit ministry. But this is what he told her…

“If God has chosen for me to be on the background I am okay with that. I just need to be faithful to Him.”

Billy Graham noted that “the highest form of worship is the worship of unselfish Christian service”.

Nearly 700 people packing the auditorium and overflow room saw the powerful impact of selfless service. Another 3,000 have watched the celebration video. My prayer is that God’s message of how he can use a faithful servant will infect us all. I pray that this event will be a super-spreader of love, service, and kindness.

As my friend John Weber often said. God doesn’t call us to be spectacular. He just calls us to be faithful. Brad was sometimes spectacular, but he was always faithful. After seeing the fruit of his life I hope my ministry will never be the same. And I want to live this truth for the rest of my days.

Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” John 13:35 – NLT

May 31, 2021
How To Have An Eternal Impact

This week one of the men I have most admired in my journey died at the way too young age of 57. His passing was sudden, shocking, and completely unexpected. Brad Johnson was one of those people who made you smile every time you saw him, talked to him, heard from him, or even thought of him. I met him when he was a Student Life Pastor in Garland, Texas. I used to call him the Golden Retriever of Pastors because he greeted everyone with enthusiasm, joy, and that signature smile of his.

We became friends at a much deeper level when he joined us as a staff member at Waterbrook Bible Fellowship. It was a church plant that Joni and I helped initiate. I got to see the character of Brad Johnson on a much deeper level because church plants are hard. Brad was a consistent confidant and encourager through some challenging times. Most of all he was one of the most selfless servants I have ever known. When portable church needed to be set up Brad was the first one there and the last to leave. Someone needed to move? Brad brought his considerable strength to help out.

During the most difficult season of that church plant Joni was diagnosed with breast cancer. We were stressed, scared, and emotionally exhausted. We wondered if we could continue with this church plant.

Very early one morning Joni and I arrived at the hospital for her first chemotherapy treatment. It was a surreal moment of uncertainty and wondering what the road ahead would be like. Suddenly this bear of a man walked in and gave us the kind of hug that only Brad Johnson could give. His presence was calming and he told us he really wanted to pray with us. It was a defining moment in our journey of reorienting our emotions away from fear and back to trust in God. Brad’s commitment to us in a frustrating season made us determine to commit to him and this church project. The praise report is that fifteen years later both Joni and the church are thriving.

When you read the social media memories of Brad you will find that there are literally hundreds of servant heart moments like that. Brad Johnson did not have a high profile ministry career in the pulpit or media. His ministry mirrored his role as an offensive lineman at the University of Nebraska. He was an important contributor but not a star. Offensive lineman learn early in their careers that their efforts are the primary reason that quarterbacks and running backs make headlines. But the backs get the glory while the linemen get dirtied and banged up. Offensive linemen are great teammates who don’t care about themselves. It is about the team being successful and moving toward the goal. That was Brad. He was always the one willing to do the work no one else wanted to do.

Brad left our church plant to take a senior pastor role in his home state of Nebraska. I remember how sad I felt the day that he and Deb left. We had been on a journey together discovering the impact of identity and grace in our journeys with Jesus. It was game changing stuff for both of us.

When that pastoral role in Nebraska didn’t work out Brad was faced with a dilemma. Should he uproot his family again to find a church job somewhere? I remember laughing and crying on the phone with Brad as he agonized over what to do. You will not be surprised to hear that he took the selfless role of putting his career on pause to get a job at a local ethanol production facility. He worked long and inconvenient hours at a job that many men would have deemed beneath their calling. Not Brad. His priority was his God and his family and he kept those two as his North star. I remember him sharing stories of talking to the men at the plant about Jesus. We laughed at the irony of his new role. He had often visited my television production work environment and had seen it could sometimes be a bit rough. We laughed that we now shared another connection of work in the real world. But his heart for Jesus never changed whether it was in a pulpit or doing a late shift at an ethanol plant. God can use a willing and serving heart no matter where you find yourself. Not in your dream role? If you are a follower of Jesus there is ministry all around you and maybe you are there for exactly that reason. That was Brad’s heart.

Brad and Deb getting ready for some Husker Football

It gives me great joy that the leadership at Hillcrest Evangelical Free Church in Seward, Nebraska recognized the gifts that Brad brought to the table. They hired him to lead their small group, community connection, and counseling outreaches. He found his niche using his considerable relational skills in that setting. It seems only fitting that this servant of Jesus was counseling when he suffered a seizure and apparent stroke that ended his life. He served until his final breath.

I think we will be surprised when we get to Heaven. The famous and noted religious leaders may have gotten their due here on this planet. I think we will find out it was humble and selfless servants like Brad Johnson that God used to make His Kingdom grow the most. I think this passage epitomizes Brad’s ministry.

Instead of being motivated by selfish ambition or vanity, each of you should, in humility, be moved to treat one another as more important than yourself. Each of you should be concerned not only about your own interests, but about the interests of others as well. (Philippians 2:3-4, NET)

Some will say “I am sorry you lost your friend.” My response is one of hope and joy. “I didn’t lose Brad. I know exactly where he is.” And I know we will be together again.

A patented Brad hug when he left for Nebraska.

I look forward to one of those Brad hugs again someday. Maybe my glorified body won’t be so puny compared to his. And I pray that Brad Johnson’s blueprint to have an eternal impact will inspire others. It is not complicated.

Follow Jesus faithfully. Be loving. Be kind. Be present. Be a giver of grace. Be a light in the darkness. Then trust God for the results.

May 24, 2021
The Impossible Dream 50 Years Later

Fifty years ago this past weekend a very talented group of cast and crew presented the annual Chillicothe High School musical. For reasons I still don’t understand I was cast as the lead. I had never acted and I was not a trained singer. That stellar resume got me the lead role of Don Quixote. Go figure. The play was called Man of La Mancha and I realize almost fifty years later how daring that choice was for small town Chillicothe, Ohio. Man of La Mancha was pretty edgy for that era. You may know that the play is based on Miguel de Cervantes’s seventeenth-century novel Don Quixote. The musical unfolds as a play within a play, performed by Cervantes and his fellow prisoners as he awaits a hearing with the Spanish Inquisition. Cervantes takes on the character of “mad knight” Don Quixote and he assigns roles for the other prisoners. The musical is best known for it’s signature song “The Impossible Dream”.

As I look back I can see a spiritual lesson in the narrative. The gentle and naive Don Quixote sees the world through eyes of grace. He sees what people can become and not what they are at the moment. One of the characters is a self-proclaimed prostitute named Aldonza. But Quixote sees her as a lady and treats her with respect. He calls her Dulcinea, a name that is more befitting of a “lady”. But Aldonza lashes out with fury and hatred toward Quixote. All of her past junk pours out. A mother who did not know which of her many lovers was Aldonza’s father. Men who had used, abused and abandoned her. And now this man calls her a lady and gives her a new name and identity. Throughout the play Aldonza reacts with anger and fear. She hates what she has become but she is afraid to change. At least her identity as a strumpet is familiar. Don Quixote patiently sees her as a soul created with value who can be redeemed.

As the play goes on Aldonza sees that Quixote is real. His attention is not another ploy to use and discard her. And gradually she begins to believe what the old man says is true about her. That she does have value. At the end the “Quixotic” world of the Man of La Mancha is destroyed and he draws his final breath. Quixote’s faithful squire Sancho turns to the grieving woman and calls her Aldonza. She looks at Sancho and gently corrects him as she says her new name.

Dulcinea.

Her identity had been changed by an agent of grace. A parallel can be drawn to what happens to those who place their trust in Christ. Jesus gives us a new identity and He calls us by a new name.

Saint.

We also tend to fight back and remind God of what we used to be and all that is wrong about us now. But Jesus patiently reminds us of our new identity. He tells us that we have been changed. That our spiritual DNA has been rewritten. That we are a new creation in Christ. That we are Holy. When you believe what Jesus says is true about you it will change how you live your life. You don’t need to work or strive to earn more of God’s favor. It is fully given to you at the moment you enter into a faith relationship with Christ.

Paul writes about this mystery to the Church at Corinth.

So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (NLT)

So we are a new person. Righteous. That is not an “impossible dream” but a theological truth. Christ has imputed His righteousness to us. Paul continues in his letter to the Corinthians.

And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.

If I may borrow from the Impossible Dream lyrics…

This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far

To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause

And I know if I’ll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I’m laid to my rest.

My quest is to communicate the liberating message of grace till I’m laid to my rest. And that is a very possible dream.

Parts of this article are excerpted from my book Stay: Lessons My Dogs Taught Me about Life, Loss, and Grace.

May 17, 2021