Stories of my Journey
Finding God in Nature
It has been many years since I first read Oswald Chambers’ great devotional work, My Utmost for His Highest. In it, I came across a thought that had never occurred to me before. He said, “When you have thoughts and ideas that are worthy of credit to God, learn to compare and associate them with…
Chasing Parker – Read Psalm 119:33-40
It was a very mild morning in February but there was still a lot of snow on the ground. We had received enough snow in the last 2 weeks to ensure that the paths in my forest would continue to be knee deep for a good while yet, no matter how mild it gets. I…
Read Psalm 91: Dangers on the path ahead
I was walking early in the morning, conscious of the recent coyote sightings in the north end of our neighbouring forest. As we walked along, Ruby ran ahead on the narrow path that leads to the main arteries through the large County Forest Tract. I was climbing up the last hill when I heard her…
Finding God in Nature Read Psalm 19:1-6
It has been many years since I first read Oswald Chambers’ great devotional work, My Utmost for His Highest. In it, I came across a thought that had never occurred to me before. He said, “When you have thoughts and ideas that are worthy of credit to God, learn to compare and associate them with…
Read John 21:15-19 Part 2 A Recommissioning
This is a guided meditation on the passage, and it’s meant to be Part 2 of my last blog. Please read the passage over twice, slowly, and on the second reading put yourself into the story in some way. As you read my comments, based on Peter’s experience, I hope these thoughts will resonate with…
Read John 21:1-14 What do I do now, Lord?
John 21 part 1 I love to dive into a story like this one, questioning the events and even putting myself into it as one of the participants. I invite you to come along on this journey with me and see what we can discover. First of all, read John 21:1-14 through twice, slowly.…
Read Acts 16:6-10 He knows where not to go
I’m currently taking courses to be a Spiritual Director. I have 4 practicum Directees, and each month I meet with them to test and hone my skills. I am in my third month of Practicum and I feel like I’m floundering. I tend to let my natural bent towards advice-giving take over, and that’s not…
Read Philippians 2:12-13: Posture Changing
I have been going to a chiropractor for many years, and one of the things he’s always on me about is my bad posture. Specifically, forward head posture. My shoulders are typically rounded with my head forward and looking down. This is how I’ve gone through my whole life. Many times my chiro has tried…
Read Matthew 21:18-32 The Short Leash
I got all ready to walk my new puppy, a 14 week old Collie/Aussie Cattle cross named Ruby. She has not adapted well to the leash and when we walk her she’s all over the place; but she’s getting better. She follows reluctantly out of the gate and up to the road. It usually isn’t…
Read Philippians 3:12-16 and Luke 10:38-42: Finding my way
(Although I wrote this a couple of years ago, it is so pertinent to the times we are in right now that I thought it was worth publishing) In the past few weeks, I have been taking time to reflect on the course of my life and what has happened in it. Almost a year…
Read Psalm 143: Guidance for those who are in despair
I was at a low point; this time I couldn’t seem to drag myself out of it. Now that my job has ended, I found myself bored and despondent; I didn’t have enough to keep me occupied and pull me out of my slump. In my morning quiet time, I followed the outline of Psalm…
Read Hebrews 12:1-3 The things that so easily entangle
This passage really spoke to me this morning. I know things have been off in my spiritual life. I have a lot more time on my hands then I ever have had before; and I expected to be taking long walks talking to the Lord, writing more, ministering to individuals. While those things are happening,…
Read Luke 7: 36-50 JESUS IS ANOINTED BY A SINFUL WOMAN
There are days when I struggle to feel God’s love, or any love for that matter. I learned over the years that if I closed off my heart to people, I would feel a lot less pain. I’m not justifying this in any way, but it’s a reality for me. As a result, I also…
Read Matthew 14: 21-23 DISMISS THE CROWDS
Sometimes little transition passages between Biblical narratives are packed with lessons for us. These few verses are one example of that. Jesus had just finished feeding 5,000 people; an amazing miracle. I’m sure He and the disciples were all tired. No doubt the disciples were looking forward to having Jesus to themselves for a while;…
Read Romans 12:1-3 Thinking in New Ways
Thinking in new ways I can be a very focused person. I like to troubleshoot and problem solve. Being able to see what needs to be done and knowing what steps to take to do it is part of what made me good at my job. And, I enjoy it. God has really wired me…
Read 2 Chronicles 20: 1-30 We don’t know what to do but our eyes are on You
I am at a crossroads and a tumultuous time in my life. In obedience to the Lord, I left my ministry position of 22 years; I sold my house; I have done my best to obey the Lord by detaching from everything I can think of. I don’t even have a vehicle anymore, because it…
Read Matthew 25:14-30 What do I do while I’m waiting?
I have been spending a lot of time lately learning about waiting. My life is transitioning and I don’t know what’s next. God has not chosen to tell me, so I wait. Reading through Matthew, there are two passages in Matthew 25 that can instruct us on waiting. Jesus is teaching His disciples about what…
Read Zechariah 3: 1-10 Clean Garments
I look over the last day or so, and I stand before the Lord, feeling dirty. How can I be a leader if I myself am unclean? I am reminded again how undeserving I am of a place in His Kingdom. I remembered Joshua, the high priest, when the Lord took off his clothes that…
Read Exodus 4:1-5 What is in your hand?
Since I am soon transitioning out of a ministry leadership position I have held for more than 20 years, I think a lot about the future. I am by nature a planner and organizer, so I love thinking about and preparing for the changes that are coming in my life. Where will we live? How…
Read Mark 1:40-45
As I read this passage today, I found myself in the story as the leper. How many times will I keep coming back here, feeling like my sin is a deadly disease eating away the inside of me? Ravaging my life, undermining my faith, compromising my testimony? I know how the leper feels; sin is…
THE NARROW ROAD Read Matthew 7: 1-14
In my ministry centre, which used to be a Police Station, we turned the former jail cells into a prayer room. As I walked around the building praying, these words caught my eye on the prayer room wall: Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord Almighty (Zech 4:6) Think…
Hosea 11 A Personalized Paraphrase
INSERT YOUR NAME IN THE BLANKS, and use whatever gender is appropriate for this to be meaningful to you. “When _______ was a child, I loved her, and out of bondage I called my daughter. But the more I called her, the farther she went from me. She sacrificed to idols and burned incense to…
WINTER IS COMING: Read Psalm 1
About a month ago, I was reading about “The Blessedness of Winter” in Richard Foster’s book ‘Prayer’. In it he describes a tree losing its outer covering to expose all the imperfections and irregularities of the tree. That really resonated with me, since I am approaching what I expect will be a winter season…
WAITING FOR GOD: A Contemplation
The extended summer this year has been nice in many ways. One of the things I’ve enjoyed is the lack of wind and the mild morning temperatures which mean longer walk times for me. I get out to the rail trail as early as I can, and lately that means it’s before dawn. I use…
What are your idols? A Personal Reflection on Ezekiel 8
Today’s reflection comes from Ezekiel 8. Please pray, as you begin, and ask the Lord to show you what you need to see, what He wants to say specifically to you. Read Ezekiel 8: 1 – 6 Here Ezekiel, who is in exile, is sitting in his house in Babylon with the elders of Judah…
Idols in the Temple Read Ezekiel 8
I had been feeling like I wasn’t really hearing from God lately, and I was getting desperate. When I go on my annual 2 weeks of spiritual retreat, I do my very best to spend as much time as possible alone so I can seek God and hear from Him, especially so that I can…
Moving vs Stagnating Read Hebrews 12:1-12
I had been feeling pretty agitated; lots was going on and none of it seemed to be working out very well. I was away on a weekend with a group of teens, helping a camp get ready to open for the summer. I was really hoping this time away would help me refocus and get…
DUMB & DANGEROUS Read Matthew 21:28-32
Towards the end of February, when we had a few days of mild weather, I decided to take a spiritual retreat day and return to Inglis Falls, a place I often hike in the summer. It’s an area I know very well. I knew I wouldn’t be able to do any serious hiking at the…
Read Luke 11: 21-26 Part 1 Protecting my house
The context of this passage is an accusation that Jesus is casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub (see v14-20). It’s good to have that backdrop, but I want to focus on the other two sections of this discourse, being (1) the strong man guarding his house and (2) the empty house. I…
Read Luke 11:21-26 Part 2 Filling the empty house
A few days have passed since I had my encounter with the Lord, the Stronger One, who had taken my self-armour and freed me from my dungeon (see Pt 1). Today I ‘accidentally’ read the wrong passage for one of my devotional books, and read Luke 11:21-26 again. This ‘accidental reading’ indicated to me…
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