Silver everywhere. The wind is a sorrowful, tinkling silver. The rain is a wet, heavy silver. Tears running down faces are a slippery, transparent silver. It is a color of profound sadness, but it is also the color of deepest joy. Just four short days ago, a precious friend took Jesus’ hand and walked into eternity … Continue reading James Winnes: A Life Well Lived

Be. This is both a passive and an active word. It speaks of being still, but anyone who has ever just been knows that it also takes an active effort to reach that state of being. Most times, I am far more of a doer than a be-er. Though I am an introvert, and appear … Continue reading Be

Jesus. Only Jesus. He matters infinitely more than anything else. Go with Him. Be with Him. Just be. With. Tonight the word I want to focus on is with. It’s a relational word. Feel it, taste it, try it out. What images does it conjure up in your mind? For me, this highly relational word … Continue reading With

Thanksgiving and Christmas—two special holidays that bracket a beautiful, meaningful season: Advent. I absolutely love Easter as it holds such significance for me as being the holiday that I really met Jesus for the very first time. But, an equally treasured time of the year is Advent. In a world that won’t stop talking and … Continue reading Advent

Bittersweet. Until Jesus, I had no idea what that word really meant. Until Jesus, I couldn’t see sweetness in the bitter. Until Jesus, I had nowhere to take the feelings found in the bittersweet moments of life. Until Jesus, well, life just wasn’t worth living. Bittersweet. It’s that burn behind your eyes right before the … Continue reading Bittersweet

This year I'm not asking for a better year, I'm asking for more of Jesus--more love for Him and others. I'm asking for a heart that will say He is more than enough in loss and better than life in death. And I'm asking for a life that says, "Jesus, You are worth it!"

Sometimes, it seems that death has a way of drawing us back or closer to Jesus. We think more about eternity and Jesus, and about people who don't know the Lord. At this time of year, you can't help but think about all the people celebrating Christmas with Jesus. What is it like to be … Continue reading Christmas with Jesus

Sometimes God uses the most ordinary things to teach us about His extraordinary Son. I got to experience one of those moments in the carwash this afternoon. Life has been extremely rough for me…I’ve never felt the darkness and sorrow like I’ve been feeling it since coming back from Mexico and Passion. Sometimes I am … Continue reading The Carwash Moment

Alive in You  I've started a couple of poems since last May, but was unable to finish them. I wrote this one this evening, after thinking all day about Ezek 37 (the dry bones) and Psalms 18:28, "For it is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness." This is how I've been feeling-dead … Continue reading “Alive in You”

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. --Lao Tzu This is the outward evidence of my inward action. It feels like a thousand miles have brought me to this first step. Jesus, thank you for new mercies every morning, fresh starts, and helping me forget the past and run toward the … Continue reading My first step