I travelled to and from Atlanta last week with my good friend Jim Hamilton. When we arrived back in Louisville yesterday, there was a reporter waiting at the security check-point. He wanted to interview us about our experience with the new TSA security procedures (video above, text version here). In short, he wanted to know if we had been through a full body scanner or had been patted down. Neither of us went through a scanner, but I did get patted down in Atlanta. For some reason, the reporter missed that detail and reported that none of the travelers he interviewed had been patted down. That was incorrect. I was.…
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DGNC
I’ll be at the @DesiringGod National Conference this weekend. If you’re there, I’d love to meet you at the @BoyceCollege booth. Hope to see you in Minneapolis. #DGNC
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Speak for the Unborn
Our church recently began a new pro-life outreach that I’ve been taking part in over the last two weekends. The outreach is called “Speak for the Unborn,” and the idea behind it is very simple. A group of us shows up to Louisville’s abortion clinic on Saturday mornings from 7:00-8:30am. As women arrive for their abortion appointments, we try to engage them in conversation as they walk from their car to the clinic. Our goal in talking to them is twofold. One, we are trying to convince them to choose life by directing them to “A Woman’s Choice Resource Center” a crisis pregnancy center located just across the street from…
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10th Wedding Anniversary
I don’t usually post personal items on this blog, but today will be an exception. Today is my 10th wedding anniversary. I’m married to the loveliest girl on the planet, and these have definitely been the best 10 of my 37 years. Leading up to today, my thoughts have been on a poem that I wrote on the occasion of our third anniversary. It’s not meant to be a sad ending, but a happy one. It’s a short narrative of a vision that I have of finishing well with my bride, whether she or I go first. Happy Anniversary, Sweetie! ——————————— A TESTIMONY AND A PRAYER The old man took…
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Are you a Varsity or JV Christian?
For many years, I believed that Christianity had a Varsity squad and Junior Varsity squad. The JV squad consisted of those who had accepted Jesus as their Savior, and the Varsity squad of those who had accepted Jesus as their Savior and Lord. I saw members of both squads in my own church. I believed that baseline Christianity was JV. These were the people who were going to Heaven but who nevertheless didn’t care very much about Jesus. I believed that Elite Christianity was only for the few varsity players. These were the people who not only weren’t going to hell but who also followed Jesus in this life on…
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Caffeine Doesn’t Help After All
I gave up my caffeine addiction last Fall after my doctor told me I needed to do so for health reasons. I loved my morning coffee, and I didn’t want to give it up. I am not a morning person, and I thought I needed the morning jolt to get me going. Nevertheless, I got on-board with the doctor’s instructions, and now my morning fix has given way to my morning decaf. Notwithstanding the brief withdrawal period, it really hasn’t been that big of a deal.
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Pray for the leak to end soon
Louisiana is my home state, and we have all been watching this oil leak with great disgust and sadness. Pray for the leak to be fixed soon and for clean-up efforts to minimize the environmental impact as much as possible. A whole way of life is threatened right now, and we need this to end.
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On Matt Chandler
Matt Chandler received a pathology report today indicating that he has cancer (read the statement here). I will be praying for him and his family, and I’m sure that many of you will be as well. I’m grateful that in the midst of this trial, he’s got the smell of grace all over him. Yesterday, he wrote this on his Twitter site: “The pathology report is secondary at best. A good report doesn’t mean much, and bad report doesn’t mean anything. My days are numbered and not by this report.” So true. We love you and will be praying for you, brother. Psalm 139:16: “All the days ordained for me…
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Christ-Centered Gift Idea for Kids
I think that perhaps the best book that we have ever bought for our children is The Jesus Storybook Bible. It tells the story of scripture in a way that is engaging to kids, all the while showing that Jesus is the point of both the Old and New Testaments. That is why the subtitle of the book is Every Story Whispers His Name. If your kids don’t have this book, you should get it for them this Christmas. Many of you are no doubt familiar with this book. What some of you may not know is that the book is now available in a deluxe edition. The deluxe edition…
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Beauty Will Rise at Thanksgiving
Rose Kennedy buried four of her own children–all of whom met tragic ends. Her oldest son Joe was killed in action in World War 2. Her daughter Kathleen died in a plane crash in Europe. Her sons John and Bobby died by the assassin’s bullet. At the end of her life she wrote this: “It has been said that time heals all wounds. I don’t agree. The wounds remain. Time—the mind, protecting its sanity—covers them with some scar tissue and the pain lessens, but it is never gone.” I have never known that kind of grief. It is hard to imagine. And I would not dare gainsay her experience. Nevertheless,…