"Am I a person of faith? Yes ... deep faith," replies the pleasant blonde woman I've just become acquainted with. We are seated in the sun-drenched dining room of a B & B, enjoying scrambled eggs with candied salmon, red potatoes, and a fruit plate with a dab of yogurt and tiny ribbons of mint. "Tricia," I'll call her,  describes the current transition in her life. After many years, her marriage has ended. Returning to her career would require a masters degree, which seems pointless so close to retirement. Should she move closer to her daughter and grandchildren, or back to Continue Reading

Sickness had dogged him since childhood; year after year, he battled despair. At times he felt so hopeless that he described himself as a living dead man, cut off from God's care. Yet he was one of three appointed, anointed national worship leaders during Israel's glory days, the reign of King David. The same man who wrote Psalm 88,  the most despondent Psalm in the whole Bible,  which ends with the line,"Darkness is my closest friend,"  also led a full choir and orchestra in singing praise to God, time after time: "He is good; his love endures forever." (2 Chronicles 5:13) Talk Continue Reading

Doesn't the word "humility" just kind of make you wince? Ouch, this is going to be about grovelling and self-deprecation... Except it's not. Not when we properly understand this virtue. Humility is not about putting yourself down and flagellating yourself for your faults and failures. In fact, beating yourself up is actually a way to exhibit pride disguised as humility. No, humility is not putting yourself down; rather, it's arriving at a correct assessment of yourself. This has always been a challenge for human beings, and never has it been more difficult than in today's noisy Continue Reading

You've prayed. You've waited. You've prayed again and waited some more. You've had other people pray -- and you're still waiting. Which begs the question: How do we do life in the tension of the already/not yet? Three parallel phrases in Scripture speak to the "in between" places of our lives. Psalm 84 describes pilgrims on their way to Zion going "from strength to strength." Romans 1:17 says the righteousness of God is revealed, a righteousness that is "from faith to faith." 2 Corinthians 3:18 describes believers as being transformed "from glory to glory." We're on a Continue Reading