Blog

In a quaint village nestled between rolling hills and whispering streams, there lived an old man named Christian. Christian was known not for his wealth or stature but for his gentleness and sage wisdom. His heart radiated a rare warmth that touched the lives of all who crossed his path.

In a recent post titled What God Sings About, we looked at the final third of Zephaniah 3, basking in the fact that God so delights in His restored relationship with us that He breaks out in singing. What an amazing truth!

Newsflash -- I sin way more frequently than I’d like and generally act the fool in the process. On the upside, I do try very hard to learn from my sins, to not repeat them, and to share with others what I’ve learned so that they can avoid my failures. So, here’s another one . . .

There are things in life that are unbearable. Things that shake you to the core. Things that reveal the truth about what you believe. A chronic diagnosis, the death of a daughter or son, the betrayal of your spouse. Things like loneliness, depression, fear, or hopelessness that seem to linger through the night and greet you in the morning all over again. What do you do when you come face to face with your worst imaginations in real time? When the thing you thought would do you in shows up on your doorstep, walks right in, pours a cup of tea and snuggles up next to you on the sofa.

Twelve years ago, our family spent a year in Spain sharing the good news of Jesus. There were so many things we learned from the people and culture. Things like slowing down to grab coffee with a friend on his way to work or talking for an hour with the woman selling fruit and vegetables below our apartment. One of the lasting cultural impressions we took away with us from Spain was something called “sobremesa”. The literal Spanish meaning is “upon the table.”