One funny thing about loneliness is that it makes you, at times, want to avoid people.
Family
Give Me a Love for People
Give me a love for people,
For runny noses and achy heads,
For homesick widows with empty beds,
For orphaned children who long for homes,
For refugees on a strange sea’s foams,
For unwashed sweaters and hole-filled shoes,
For ears weary with unhappy news,
For feeble bodies both young and old,
For hearts white-hot and for hearts now cold,
For neighbors nearby and far away,
For friends who go and for friends who stay,
For enemies who have not earned peace,
For captives awaiting their release,
For those who share my blood and my name,
For names I would prefer not to claim,
For fallen minds that think much like me,
For souls with whom I still disagree,
For happy voices singing their songs,
For those I fear because of their wrongs,
For tongues I do not now understand,
For both innocent and guilty hands,
For those remembered, those forgotten,
For both highborn and misbegotten,
For image bearers in ev’ry form,
For the lost, the fervent, the lukewarm.
Give me a love for people.
Photo by John Simitopoulos on Unsplash
The Christian and Social Media: Christ-Like Etiquette
James encourages Christians to “be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger” (James 1:19). A brief scroll through the average believer’s social media feed may suggest that we as Christ followers struggle to apply James’s teaching. We can be quick to anger when we read something disagreeable, quick to speak our mind on the matter, and slow to truly hear any alternate or opposing position. Our passions appear to be very much at war within the body (James 4:1), and the casualties of war extend beyond the church to the lost world watching us fight.
Mema
Five dollars may not mean that much to you,
And Lincoln’s face may never make you smile.
Casa Ole may never come in view.
You may think eating trash is not your style.
Your Christmas gift may never have been placed
Inside a colored bag upon the tree.
And you, poor soul, may never know the taste
Of Hello Dollies shared with family.
These memories are blessings to the mind,
And thoughts of them do always warm the heart,
For our Mema and Grandad, always kind,
Have played in all our lives the sweetest part.
With thankfulness these words could never say,
We celebrate our Mema’s life today.
Work In Progress
Today is my birthday. Birthdays are great excuses to spend quality time with family and friends, and I cherish those times. But birthdays are also great times to reflect on one’s life. Here are a few things I’ve noticed as I’ve reflected on my life this year. Continue reading
Thanks (The Blessing of Friendship)
The time is 10:03 am on Monday, October 19. I’m sitting in a little coffee shop in Shreveport, Louisiana. Ordinarily, I’d be doing some last minute edits before updating this blog, but, as I’m sitting here, these are the only words on the page. And I’m fine with that.
Friday Night Faith and Family
Last Friday night, I left the house where my parents and brother live and headed home to the seminary. As I was driving to the apartment, my parents were driving my younger brother to the emergency room.
Continue reading