Singer Dan Fogelberg was one of my favorite singer/songwriters. Every Father’s Day I cue up 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 oldBut his blood runs through my instrument and his song is in my soul I thank you for the music and your stories of the roadI thank you for the freedom when it came my time to goI thank you for the kindness and the times when you got toughAnd, 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 often. But this is the portion of the song that continues to impact me as a son. My life has been a poor
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My head explodes when I allow myself to wade into the political discourse between followers of Jesus Christ on Facebook, X, and other social media. There are important cultural issues that Christians need to prayerfully and gracefully seek God’s wisdom to address. What I read is rarely graceful and that makes me wonder how prayerful the messengers have been before hitting the send button. What gives you the right to judge the faith status of another believer because you disagree with them? I was wrong about many political things in my life but I did believe in Jesus (in spite of what some critics thought) and God patiently changed my heart. Because of the nature of social media a topic that should be thoughtfully debated instead becomes an us versus them. I can assure you that no one’s mind is changed by a name calling rant. If fact, that person is more likely to dig in even deeper to what may
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An experienced friend recently noted that “getting old is not for sissies”. Indeed. Even if you escape personal difficulties you will undoubtedly have family and friends who are going through physical, emotional and spiritual trials. One of the songs that I default to when I am walking through valleys with others is from singer/composer Rich Mullins. The song is from his CD called Songs and it is simply titled “Hold Me Jesus”. Well, sometimes my lifeJust don’t make sense at allWhen the mountains look so bigAnd my faith just seems so small Right now I am in a pretty good place in my life and journey with Jesus. But then I started thinking about the many friends and loved ones who could relate completely to those lyrics in their current situation. And I can certainly remember seasons of my life when those words accurately reflected the condition of my soul. And I wake up in the night and feel the darkIt’s so hot inside my soulI
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Being in loving community with others means you share in their joys and their sorrows. Sometimes the sorrows come in tsunami waves and all you can do is care, pray, and be present. Good and decent people deal with financial, emotional, and physical suffering all around us and it is easy to lose heart. The news seems to be only tragedy and heartbreaking sadness. What can be redeemed of all of this suffering? A song called “The Hurt and the Healer” by MercyMe resonated when I first heard it over a decade ago but recently that same song has ministers deeper in my soul. I was not aware that Bart Millard and Andrew Farley had co-written a book about this issue of Jesus being the healer when life hurts. The lyrics are powerful… Why?The question that is never far awayThe healing doesn’t come from the explainedJesus please don’t let this go in vain I can’t explain why things happen. Sometimes it is the consequences
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If my Mom was born in today’s world I have no doubt she would have flourished with her strong, independent, and intelligent personality. But life for women in the 40’s and 50’s was limiting and I would guess a bit frustrating at times. I loved my Mom but our relationship was often challenging. She was raised in a family where love was not openly expressed. She could be negative and her comments often impacted me. I knew that she loved me fiercely but I will admit that I grieved for a more gracious expression of her love. As her health declined I prayed that her relationship with God would be clear to her and to her family. In the summer of 2006 I journeyed to Ohio to visit her. A group of Christian friends in Texas told me they would pray that I could discuss salvation with my Mom. I thanked them for their concern but in my heart I
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I write a lot about where our hope truly lies and how we need to be a positive light in a negative world. I came upon this wise advice for social media posters from the Gospel of John. “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered. (John 6:43) I laughed when I read that and thought this might become my new life verse for this very negative political season. The verse follows a section where Jesus talks about how He is the bread of life and has come from Heaven. This was just too much for the locals who knew Him as the kid raised by Mary and Joseph down at the carpenter shop. But the message is timeless. I need to stop grumbling and start living out of who God says I am as His child. Maybe that is why God calls me His child because I sure can be childish at times. The grumbling verse reminded me of one of
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This has been a tough season of life for many people I care deeply about. My heart feels heavy as I remember the words of Jesus. “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30) I wrote about this passage in my book Stay: Lessons My Dogs Taught Me about Life, Loss, and Grace. What did Jesus mean by that statement, “My yoke is easy”? Clearly, the burdens of life are heavy. There is nothing easy about heartache, pain, and loss. I reread Jesus’ inviting words: “Come to me.” No one needs to go through life’s difficulties alone, but the truth is that Jesus will not force Himself on
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