Anxiety and fear are cousins but not twins. Fear sees a threat. Anxiety imagines one.

The life of Jesus Christ is a message of hope, a message of mercy, a message of life in a dark world.

We are Jesus Christ's; we belong to him. But even more, we are increasingly him. He moves in and commandeers our hands and feet, requisitions our minds and tongues. We sense his rearranging: debris into the divine, pig's ear into silk purse. He repurposes bad decisions and squalid choices. Little by little, a new image emerges.

We forget that IMPOSSIBLE is one of God's favorite words

God crowns us. Most people crown their Christmas trees with either an angel or a star. God uses both.

I noticed people would read these short articles I was assigned to write for our church bulletin and they would say, Boy, thats good stuff. I got letters from people around the country saying, Thats really good. And I thought, Is it really?

People assume when they come into a church and see a person up there speaking, 'That person must be a good person.' My challenge through the years has been believing that: 'I guess I must be a really good person.' I struggle with it. It just helps me to keep that confessional posture.