Acknowledge Him
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5 NASB The idea of acknowledging God in all my ways has been popping into my mind, particularly when I head out the door. On the way to visit my mom, I think, I acknowledge you, Lord. I never know what kind of visit it will be. But God does. Or at the beginning of a day with the grandkids. I acknowledge you, Lord. It’s good to renew my trust and actually speak my...
read moreTomato Guy
Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 NASB A few weeks back, Cindy asked for volunteers to help at Jubilee Reach. They needed to pot a lot of tomato plants to give away. “Are you interested?” Carol asked. “No,” I said. Potting tomatoes is not at the top of my triangle. I do not have a green thumb. Not in my comfort zone. ...
read moreA Creekside Family
Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. Mark 10:29-30 NASB I was enjoying a warm day at the park with my boys recently, enjoying the cooler air when I saw it – the Circle of Moms. There they were huddled...
read moreOne Blood: Parting Words to the Church on Race
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 2 Cor 5:18-19 NASB This is the fourth in a series of reflections on books read by the Creekside Book Club. John Perkins wrote One Blood:...
read moreRediscipling the White Church
For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. Romans 7:18-19 NASB (This is the third in a series of reflections on books read by the Creekside Book Club) In May of 2020, many white Christians were feeling grieved and burdened by racial injustice and cries of lament coming from our brothers and sisters of color, especially Black folks, following events such as the...
read moreWelcoming the Stranger
(This is the second in a series of reflections on books read by the Creekside Book Club) I thought I knew how the immigration system worked in the United States. I grew up with immigrants – undocumented, refugees and legal residents – in my community in Southern Idaho. Here in Washington, I work every day with people who have immigrated or are immigrating from many countries. I even have some extended family members who are immigrants. I assumed there was a way for anyone to immigrate legally to the US and that it was as simple as...
read moreThou Shalt Not Be A Jerk
(This is the first in a series of reflections on books read by the Creekside Book Club) In Thou Shalt Not Be a Jerk by Rev. Eugene Cho, Pastor Cho asks the following rather tongue-in-cheek question. Does the following describe a good Christian – one who goes to church, serves in the church, does his/her devotionals daily, attends Bible study, and doesn’t ask too many questions? Pastor Cho doesn’t answer this question, but my guess is no, or at least not quite. He writes: The Kingdom of God isn’t merely about a ticket to heaven or reducing...
read moreHeart Attitude for Wisdom
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Proverbs 1:7 NIV This summer I was challenged, along with my Bible study group, to delve into Proverbs. I say challenged because time and time again, I feel very, very unwise. Proverbs is all about seeking wisdom, and at any cost (Proverbs 4). I would argue that mankind is not naturally wise. I am not sure how true is the phrase “with age comes wisdom”, but I doubt if that’s true in my case. Throughout the study, I kept going back to the verse...
read moreFinding Joy in a Heat Wave
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. – James 1:2-4 NIV It’s only Tuesday night as I write this, but so much has happened already this week! We have experienced record breaking heat all across the Pacific Northwest, and to top it off, our daughter Dorothea was baptized on Sunday morning. But really, I want to talk about the...
read moreChurch Work Day
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30 NIV) Several weeks ago, Carol and I signed up for Church Community Service Day. Or rather, Carol asked me if I wanted to sign up with her. She was not being manipulative. She just wanted to know if I wanted to go. Well, of course I didn’t. But guilt and shame overwhelmed me, and I...
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