by the Night Writer
Pastor Earl showed this video last weekend at Inside Outfitters. You coud say it was a powerful message for the group since many who attend are dealing with substance abuse of one kind or another. But Inside Outfitters isn’t about overcoming substance abuse, or just for men bedeviled by drugs or alcohol. [...]
by the Night Writer
A little over a year ago I started going down to the Red Wing Correctional Facility a couple of times a month to host a chapel service for the men. Red Wing is primarily a youth facility, referred to by Bob Dylan in his song “The Walls of Red Wing”, but they [...]
by the Night Writer
Earlier in the week I posted a link to a talk I presented last month to the Inside Outfitters group about the need and benefits of living with an open hand (my part starts about five minutes into the podcast). In the talk I shared several of my experiences over the years [...]
by the Night Writer
I can’t say how it is that my mental juke box goes about selecting a song to be in my head when I wake up in the morning, but invariably I have one. Sometimes it’s a song I heard the day before, so that’s easy to explain, but most of the time [...]
by the Night Writer
Earlier I posted about the time the godly hole got punched in the wall of my world-view. It was a dramatic example, but not necessarily the first time God tried to get my attention. Looking back now I can see numerous nudges, nods, winks and taps on the shoulder when I was [...]
by the Night Writer
Like a big fist pounding on my door,
I never felt such a love before…
– Bruce Cockburn
Sunday thoughts.
In church this morning we were exhorted, during the singing portion, to remember that with a shout the walls will come down. “The wall” in this case being whatever is standing between us and God’s [...]
by the Night Writer
ELINOR: Surely you don’t compare your conduct with his?
MARIANNE: No. I compare it with what it ought to have been. I compare it with yours.
– from “Sense and Sensibility”
In Part 1 I outlined the reasons and the need to pursue self-development, but also the risks of emulating someone who’s life may turn [...]
by the Night Writer
The other night someone’s comment made me pause, as I do around this time of the year, to reflect on the Christmas message of a Savior coming amongst us. Readers familiar with my annual “Christmas Special” will recall that the first benefit of faith (and grace) is not in getting what we [...]
by the Night Writer
I spoke to our Inside Outfitters group back on December 19th, elaborating on the “return from captivity” message I originally shared with the men at Red Wing. This was our annual Christms meeting where the men of our church go all out in preparing hams, fried eggs and pancakes with special toppings [...]
by the Night Writer
We’ve just gone through the Thanksgiving holiday and we’re heading fast for Christmas. It’s an easy time of year to be thankful and to think of the blessings we’ve received, especially from God. But what if your life doesn’t look or feel that blessed at the moment? Do your present circumstances define [...]
