A beautiful fall hike at Crosswinds Marsh on a perfect Saturday morning.

Fall golf in Michigan is truly stunning.

Watched: Lanterns S1E8, Dirt and Stars 🍿

This show was absolutely fantastic from start to finish. I hope we get many more like it.

I miss the days where we were on blogger/blogspot and we were interacting with each other’s blog posts in the comments and had blogrolls and even did those blog arounds where everyone blogged about an idea and built off one another’s blog posts.

Those were good days.

Currently reading: The Ragamuffin Gospel Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out by Brennan Manning 📚

To be alive is to be broken; to be broken is to stand in need of grace. It is only through grace that any of us could dare to hope that we could become more like Christ.

That’s good news.

"Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music — the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself." ~ Henry Miller, novelist

This really resonates with me. Being intentionally present is rooted in this perspective. As Ted Lasso said, “Be curious.”

Finished reading: How to Talk about Jesus by Sam Chan 📚

Read through this little book today at the recommendation of a colleague. It’s not earth shattering.

It provides some nice suggestions for folks trying to be a bit more open about their faith.

I still struggle with the transactional tenor of the text.

This morning we get to hear from Pastor Joyce Weekly reminding us of the necessity to hold on to our first love through grace, truth, and time. I needed this, this morning.

I’m so grateful that the Midwest Presbytery is taking on pastoral burnout head on. Sean Nemecek of Anchor Ministries is here providing important insight into how to protect against burnout and identify it.

Currently reading: The Ragamuffin Gospel Good News for the Bedraggled, Beat-Up, and Burnt Out by Brennan Manning 📚

Our resistance to the furious love of God may be traced to the church, our parents and pastors, and life itself. They have hidden the face of a compassionate God, we protest, and favored a God of holiness, justice, and wrath.

There they are. There we are-the multitude who so wanted to be faithful, who at times got defeated, soiled by life, and bested by trials, wearing the bloodied garments of life's tribulations, but through it all clung to the faith.

My friends, if this is not good news to you, you have never understood the gospel of grace. - Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel

“For me, forgiveness and compassion are always linked: how do we hold people accountable for wrongdoing and yet at the same time remain in touch with their humanity enough to believe in their capacity to be transformed?”

• bell hooks, essayist / critic

This really hits.

As I prepare to preach John 18 & 19 this Sunday, I am blown away by how timely it is for our moment. Particularly, the parallel of the religious leaders in the first century and the religious leaders of today.

“We have no king but Caesar!”

Whew.

Finished reading: The Butcher’s Masquerade by Matt Dinniman 📚

I cannot wait for the next installment to hit my Libby. The story is starting to really get good beyond the humor and action.

Coffee and a laptop at Black Iron Coffee, what kind of trouble can I get up to? Probably more than I should.