Living Unfiltered for God

There’s something about the end of a calendar year that tends to make us very introspective. This day – New Year’s Eve – is traditionally the day I spend the most time thinking about where I’ve been… and where I’m headed. My wife and I enjoy remembering the “highlights” of the year as we prepare to embark on a brand new 12 months! While today marks the height of this process of reflecting, for us it typically starts a week or so before Christmas. Things will pop up that we’d almost forgotten, and it gives us time to digest what it all means and perhaps, what we were supposed to learn from it all. Last night, I had a thought not from 2017, but from 1987. New Year’s Eve 1987, to be exact. I was reminded of something that took place 30 years ago today, which I will share in a minute. Some other thoughts followed – what it might mean and why, that I feel, the Holy Spirit brought to mind. I’m still not entirely sure why. I was just sure that I needed to write it down. If I’m honest, I’...

“If you don’t have to fight any battles than you don’t have to learn to trust.” This is just one of the nuggets of wisdom that was injected directly into my soul the other day, when I listened to a message by Erwin McManus, the lead Pastor at Mosaic Church in Los Angeles. I was led there by a couple of posts I happened to see on social media about a "very important message" that McManus was going to preach this past Sunday. In the message, he told his church that he has been diagnosed with cancer. It is one of the most moving messages I have heard in a very long time. The title and theme of the talk was "Battle Ready". The guiding verses were from the beginning of Judges 3 . The idea McManus focused on was that God brings battles into our lives so that we learn to fight, because in fighting, we learn to trust Him more. The greater the battle, the greater the trust. Obviously, he used the commencing of his battle with cancer as his object lesson. “God wil...

There are some things you never think you're going to have to deal with in this life. Or maybe, you just never think about them - at least not for long - because the chances of them happening are so very slim. At least... you think the chances are slim. For me, you could classify, "having one of my step-daughters be diagnosed with Breast Cancer" in that category. Well, regardless of what the odds of that happening really were, here we are. What I thought could (or would) never happen, has happened. The details are hers to share, but the last two months have been a very emotional roller coaster ride for her and our entire family. And tomorrow, our daughter Michelle, will go through her first round of chemotherapy. While her prognosis is very good, the next few months will see her facing a challenge no parent ever wants to see their child have to endure.  From the beginning of this, I have held on to Romans 8:28 , " And we know that in all things God works for...