My home is at the crest of a hill overlooking woods on one side and a field to the east, which means that I often get to view the most beautiful sunsets in the early mornings.  When the sun is just crossing the horizon and the sky turns golden, I am reminded why mornings are my favorite time of day.  The warm hues signify the end of a dark night and beginning of a new and fresh day.  Luke 1:78 refers to Jesus as the "sunrise from on high," which aptly describes Christ's purpose in entering our world as a child.  He came to be the light in a dark world, bringing hope, mercy and righteousness which humanity was desperate for.   This reference to Jesus as the sunrise from on high reminds me of the beginning of time when light was first created.  In Genesis 1:3, God declared that there would be light and instantaneously the light came into existence.  Light is simultaneous with God's presence, His holiness and His truth.  He spoke and the l...

 When you think about prayer, you might wonder if it is just a mental exercise or does it really have any power?  What is the purpose of prayer when ultimately God is providentially in control anyways?  Does God really hear our prayers or is does he care to hear about the little things like being late for work or finding our lost keys?  The apostle Paul penned a few prayers that can guide us in our own prayer life and they hint at many of the questions we may have regarding prayer.  Why do we pray?  How should we pray?  What should we be praying for? Ephesians 1:15-21  15  For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people,   16  I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.   17  I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit [ f ]  of wisdom and revelation , so that...

 I've been reading the book of Exodus lately and thinking about Moses as an example for leadership, but probably not in all the ways we might expect.  There's no question that Moses was one of the most influential leaders in all of history as he took a scraggly group of slaves and over the course of 40 years transformed them into a cohesive nation.  They lacked purpose, direction and unity when they started out on their own.  God chose Moses to lead them from slavery into the promised land - what was it that made Moses such an uncommon leader? First of all, Moses would not have made it through the screening processes we have for approving leaders in this century.  Remember, he killed an Egyptian, enacted martial law, became the judge, jury and executioner when he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew slave.  He ran away and hid for 40 years in the desert before he returned to Egypt again (he probably never thought he was going back).   In addition to a...

I have to be honest, there have been many mornings since I became an administrator that I felt like I was headed right into a battle as soon as I stepped in the front door of the school.  Having read an angry parent email, I knew I had to respond to it immediately and I had to get my mind in the right place when it felt like I was under attack.  Other days I felt the tension as I was preparing to meet with a teacher and have a hard conversation I knew would be met with resistance.  Many mornings, I steeled myself for the students whose behaviors were out of control, emptying classrooms, running away or hurting others but didn't seem respond to any of the interventions I had already tried.   It makes me think of an old Twila Paris song called "The Warrior is a Child," where she describes the strong fighter as someone who goes home at the end of the battle and rests at the feet of Jesus, weary of the battle.   I think it's interesting that Brene Brown ta...

Luke 15 tells the story of son who turned his back on his father, wasted all his inheritance and lived in rebellious sin.  And then, there he is at the end of his rope; he's desperate, he's hopeless, and he is filled with shame.     Think about it:  he had to have been from a family of means in order to receive such an inheritance.  He had been given everything he ever wanted but he still wasn't happy with it.  Instead, he ran off and spent his money on all the things that would embarrass his father and ended up being so poor he was willing to eat pig slop.  He went from a pride-filled, insatiable young man to the absolute lowest place you could imagine.  He finally wondered if he could at least be a servant in his father's house where he could eat decent food.     Did you notice that he didn't even consider asking to be let back into the house as a son?  His shame ran deep and he probably hung his head as he stumbled towa...