Blog

Death hangs like a menacing cloud threatening to wash away all hope. Sorrow pours like unforgiving rain, and all celebration of life is buried in its flood. The soul cries out against tears and pain.  But hope is not lost. Hope is the everlasting, unyielding anchor that holds the ship of Faith afloat. The storm rages and bangs against the ship.…

Imagine your name is Seong, and you are a pastor in North Korea. Authorities have discovered that you have been telling friends and neighbors stories from the Bible. You have even baptized a few of your friends. Those closest to you are devastated. They want to help but feel powerless. Worse yet, they've discovered one of them was the informant who turned…

You can't engage in social media without seeing the heated discussions about school shootings, gun control, mental illness, arming teachers, disarming criminals, increased background checks, FBI failures.... So many questions.So many answers.But what's the real question?What's the real answer? Is there an answer? How do we protect our children? Before we can have an honest discussion, we need to take…

When I wrote this song, I tried to imagine all the things that drive me crazy about Christmas yet connect with all the things I love about Christmas. I pictured myself window shopping in an old town square. Strings of over-sized white lights stretch from every building and every street corner toward the courthouse, making an idyllic Christmas tree. Wreaths…

“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."When Julia Renee and I set our hearts on a Christmas recording project, I immediately heard my mother's sweet…

Angry at God and angry at man  Hate steals life with a cowardly handA peaceful SundayA church unaware Loaded hatred unloaded there Silent church bellsNo one singing Cries and screaming Ears ringingHearts fail as bullets sailHatred tries but hatred diesSorrow grips and squeezes tightBut hope holds tighter and never diesA broken heart Love can mendLove goes onLove has no end

I can't do enough goodCan I do anything goodTruly goodCan I impress GodCan I sacrifice something to wow the Creator of all thingsWhat is it God wants from meWhen I bring him a sacrifice, am I waving His own sacrifice in His faceAm I only fooling myselfWhat does He want"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,nA broken and a contrite…

So many wordsSo many emotionsSo much going on Weariness replaces wonderLanguishing replaces loveHate replaces hopeFear replaces freedom It doesn't have to be this wayIt shouldn't be this wayIt can't be this way When our fears and frustrations distract and divide usWhen our wills build walls and wage wars When our hurts become bigger than our hearts It's time to not…

She was a vibrant twenty-year-old full of joy and brimming with passion. He was her world, her sturdy prince who loved her deeply. All of life was ahead of them, and love was their path and their goal. But her world veered from the path into an oncoming semi. The light was gone, and life became a living death, spiraling…

Reading Girls Like Us by Rachel Lloyd is eye-opening and heart-rending. One of the things that has struck me the hardest is the power of thoughtless, sometimes hateful, reminders of our past failures.Rachel describes the tainted scene of visiting the White House on the invitation of the President. She was there to witness the signing of legislation that she helped…

As tragedies surround us and tensions divide us, I am reminded of that silent dawn of September 12 when the skies were clear. Not one streak in the sky. Every flight across our nation grounded.Americans came together, united by tragedy.Strangers became instant friends.Everyone stood for the National Anthem and felt the deeply passionate need to stand.Today, tragedies across our country…

I see a lot of disturbing words on social media, a lot of arguments reduced to name calling. Reasoned discussion is abandoned for argumentum ad hominem, personal attacks. Rather than listening to opposing views, we vilify our presumed opponents with generalizations and broad-sweeping, hurtful words. Enough. Really. Enough. Can we not have enough respect for those with whom we disagree…