Echoes and Stars

  
1. It’s true that Bob Dylan made some albums that were, ummmm, less than stellar. But he also had songs like “Tomorrow Is A Long Time” and “Lay Down Your Weary Tune” which barely saw the light of day. And they are the two most beautiful songs I know.

2. You can always count on some difficult days at work in the week leading up to the Sunday School lesson on work and vocation.

3. You know, we make a lot jokes about people taking pictures of their meal and sharing them on social media. We talk like that’s silly. But really it makes perfect sense. Excitement over the thing that sustains us which has been given by God is better than thinking a meal is not worth photographing.

4. Jesus humbled himself to come and serve us in his life on earth and then through his death on a cross. I get depressed about learning from those who would have been in one of my youth groups just 10 years ago. I’ve so much to learn yet about this following Jesus.

5. With another high-profile Acts 29 pastor being removed from the pastorate, I wonder when and if Acts 29 will ever talk to those of us burned by them. At what point will they ask, “What is wrong with us?” 

6. Three years ago we were at the hospital every day watching my Dad joyfully slip into eternity to claim the frame he was made to wear.

7. Is it okay for me to talk about how much I like seeing my wife in shorts?

8. It has taken me a long time to see that believing the gospel in the midst of a hard time is shown most clearly not in good feelings but in loving kindness toward others.

9.  The new guy at work who sits right next to me loves Van Morrison and this is a gift.

10. Preparing for and teaching this new Sunday School class is life-giving in a way I can only barely understand.