I Can Feel Your Whisper

Brennan Manning, ‘A Glimpse of Jesus’

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revival

‘The Imitation of Christ’ by Thomas à Kempis

Oh, hey Spring. Glad you could finally make it out.

Here, I am in the presence of the great Artist. I am his student, admiring his craft. Here, there is stillness. Here, there is peace. And my heart begins to settle. #winterwalks

Tyranny of The Urgent

jspark3000:

With the prevalence of sermon podcasts and the free access to millions of hours of teaching and preaching, we need some practical discernment in how to listen.

I listen to about ten to twelve hours of sermons per week, sometimes twenty. That’s not to brag, as you’ll soon see. I’ve learned some things from being a so-called sermon junkie. Some good, some pretty bad.

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Excerpt from the post:

1) Listening to certain sermon podcasts is NOT a badge of authenticity.

2) It’s possible to listen to hundreds of sermons without a single ounce of transformation.

3) Famous preachers can easily spoil me about what I expect from a sermon and a church.

4) Every single pastor’s default setting is legalism, so listen with discernment and remember Jesus.

5) I can disagree with certain points without yelling accusations of heresy, blasphemy, and apostasy.

6) With the right heart and humility, you can really grow from sermon podcasts.

7) After a while, you really learn to love these people.

“A movie-snob is barely tolerable; a sermon-snob is a Pharisee begging to be punched in the face.”

David Platt

(Source: jspark3000)

from this post

We need to hear this.

(via jspark3000)

I am cleaning off my lappy’s desktop (where I save all my documents that I currently “need”….and therefore quickly accumulates) and I found a poem that I had written for my dad this year for Father’s Day.

For 20+ years of my life, the way I showed my dad love and affection for special occasions (like Father’s Day, Christmas, birthdays) was through gifts! I tried everything - practical tools, functional shirts, extravagant meals, etc. But every time, my dad was never really “thrilled” with the gifts - he appreciated the gesture and thanked me, but seemed indifferent to receiving a gift or not. He frequently assures me that gifts are not necessary - every day is special and a celebration of itself.

I tried a different approach this past Father’s Day. This year marked a very trying year for my family as we went through a significant crisis together. When Father’s Day rolled around in June, I was busy preparing to leave for my summer ministry assignment for 2 months and so decided to write my dad a thoughtful message in a card.

Here is what came to me as I wrote:

Babar,

My whole life I have loved you

As any daughter would

Love her father

Adore her father

Admire and respect her father;

But even more so,

Am I happy for the new depths of our relationship

In most recent years.

For the deeper friendship

And conversations carried,

For shared burdens

And battles faced together.

Baba, you are a man of

Quiet strength,

Steady character,

Great honour

and worth.

Thank you for being MY Dad! :)

Happy Father’s Day, Babar.

“He is the image
Of the Father divine
Reflecting the nature of God,
For his love and care
And the faith he shared
Pointed me to my Father above.”

I didn’t think much of it…but when I returned from my summer ministry assignment, I saw my little dollar store card pinned up on display next to his workspace. In daily view. Prized.

And I realized that my dad’s love language is words of encouragement. How I neglected to see this til now!

Anyway, I just found the document on my desktop that I used to draft the poem that evening in June. and seeing it made me miss my Babar terribly.

I love that man.

Question: Are you watering down the gospel if you are not sharing a “full” gospel presentation?

Day 1 of Welcome Week at Mac - Upper Year Party! (Taken with Instagram)

Day 2 of #WelcomeWeek: clubsfest! (Taken with Instagram)

Tim Keller