Sometimes for me it helps to have my prayers written down. It helps me focus to read the words that other saints have prayed through the years all over the world. Sometimes, these prayers echo my own thoughts and express my longings better than I can at the moment.

Here’s another short prayer that you can recite when you can’t find words of your own to say to God:

“Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;
Do what’s best—
    as above, so below.
Keep us alive with three square meals.
Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.
Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.
You’re in charge!
You can do anything you want!
You’re ablaze in beauty!
    Yes. Yes. Yes” (Matthew 6:9-13, The Message).

Sometimes, it’s hard to understand how evil seems to win every day. It seems like good people suffer while those who do whatever they want whenever they want without regard for morals or consequences seem to prosper. It all seems so unfair.

Someone goes into a private school and shoots and kills 3 little children. Another faithful pastor sees his wife suffer the effects of a stroke and watches her painful road to recovery. Still so many others have seen loved ones slip away before their time.

But Jesus promises that one day we will understand. One day it will all make sense. One day, whatever we’ve lost won’t even begin to compare with what we gained in the end.

I read a beautiful verse recently that I hadn’t noticed before:

“The righteous perish,
    and no one takes it to heart;
the devout are taken away,
    and no one understands
that the righteous are taken away
    to be spared from evil.
Those who walk uprightly
    enter into peace;
    they find rest as they lie in death” (Isaiah 57:1-2, NIV).

What seems cruel to us may very well be a mercy. Those taken are spared from the increasing evil of these days. Instead of chaos and turmoil, they enter into peace and rest.

Ultimately, God never promises us answers because He Himself is the answer we need above all others. Apart from Him, no answer could explain or satisfy our longing and desire. Nothing else could sooth our holy discontent in this beautiful but broken world.

Sometimes, you need something in your week to help you along. You need something to look forward to during the week when you’re mired in a Monday and can’t yet see Friday on the horizon.

I’ve started a new tradition. Thursday is when I stop off at Caliber Coffee Company and pick up a specialty coffee. One week, I ordered ahead the day before and got breakfast along with my sugary caffeinated beverage.

It’s not super spiritual or profound. It’s a small way to celebrate surviving the challenges of another work week. It means that I made it to Thursday, or as I like to call it, Friday Eve.

If you live or work near Donelson, I recommend Caliber Coffee Company, located off of Lebanon Pike just past McGavock Pike. It’s got a drive thru, or if you’re old school like me, you can go inside to pick up your order or even take advantage of their unique ambiance.

I definitely recommend having a weekly tradition to make those marathon work weeks a little more bearable. Because sometimes that office coffee isn’t going to cut it.

I am Jacob, for I try to manipilate and deceive every person I meet.
I am Gomer, for I whore myself after other gods and do not seek the One True God.
I am Abraham, for I lie when it suits me.
I am Esau, for I am willing to trade things of eternal worth for worthless things.
I am Cain, for my anger gets the best of me at times.
I am Moses, for I do not believe God when He says He can speak through me.
I am Judas, for I am so often ready to betray my Savior for so little.
I am David, for I sin and try to cover it up, rather than confess and be made whole.
I am Forgiven, because Jesus died for me.
I am Beloved, for God has declared me so.
I am a child of God, blood-bought, forgiven, redeemed, set free, chosen, loved.

A friend of mine posed a question: “What if God calls me to do something that I don’t feel adequate to do? What if God calls me to a place or a person or a task that is beyond my normal ability?”

The normal response is that God will never give you more than you can handle. The truth is that God will never give you more than He can handle through the one who is available and surrendered.

One of my favorite sayings is that God doesn’t call the equipped, but He equips the called. The moment you step out in faith, you find you are able. It’s like that moment in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade when Indy steps out into what looks like nothing that he can see the pathway. When we show our willingness to obey, God gives us the ability to obey.

My friend pointed out that David wasn’t anywhere near the best fighter in the Israelite army when he stepped out to face Goliath. Moses wasn’t a polished orator when he agreed to lead the people of God out of Egypt and slavery. Noah didn’t have any experience at all building boats before he agreed to build that ark.

God does miracles through those who rely less on talent than on trust, and less on skill than surrender. In other words, we can only do small things with great love. It’s God who multiplies those small efforts like loaves and fishes into something miraculous.

Here’s the link to my friend sharing his heart about those who don’t feel up to God’s calling on their lives:

https://www.facebook.com/reel/617081046991263

I heard somewhere that exercise is the most underutilized antidepressant. I’d add that getting out in nature is key to restoring tranquility and calm after a long day. For me, it was neither depression nor a bad day that got me hiking in the woods today. On a day like today, how could I not?

I got passed by a couple of guys that were doing some serious power hiking, but my object isn’t about speed. It’s about taking it all in and paying attention to what’s around me. I’ll linger if I see a creature like this deer hanging around the path. After all, it’s not a race but an experience.

It’s like the old scratch and sniff, but way better. It’s about the sights, the sounds, the smells, the feeling. It’s about somewhere in the middle of the city of Nashville where it’s like you’ve entered another world away from traffic jams and offices and the daily grind.

My advice to you is to get outside and be in nature. Let the beauty of God’s creation captivate your soul and enrich your senses. Put away your devices and headphones and be silent and just listen to what God is whispering through His world.

“Because of this decision we don’t evaluate people by what they have or how they look. We looked at the Messiah that way once and got it all wrong, as you know. We certainly don’t look at him that way anymore. Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new. The old life is gone; a new life emerges! Look at it! All this comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. God has given us the task of telling everyone what he is doing. We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.

How? you ask. In Christ. God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God” (2 Corinthians 5:16-21, The Message).

If it seems like it’s been a while since I’ve had any vinyl shenanigans, it has. My turntable has been out of commission for a bit for the reason that I couldn’t quite figure out how to put a new needle on. Me with a Master’s degree and can’t put a needle on a record player.

But I took it to a record store and the employee had compassion on me. So now I can play records again. Or I can play my vinyl, as the cool kids say.

I still say there’s something magical about dropping the needle on the first song and letting the music take over. I don’t think that will ever, ever get old.

You know I’m all about heading out on a Friday after work for a wild and crazy night of painting the town beige. I’m all about burning the midnight oil, just as long as that burning takes place around 9 or 9:30 at the latest.

But sometimes, it’s good to stay home with the cat. Especially on a day that’s grey and lonely. As much as I wanted to be out and about and experiencing things, the constant sound of the rain on my windows confirms that I made the right call by staying in.

You can tell by the picture that my cat was also pleased with my decision. She got more lap time, and I got another quality therapy session at very affordable rates.

I like people who like animals, whether those animals are dogs or cats or gerbils or hamsters or whatever. People who like animals are automatically better people in my book because it shows they have at least a little bit of empathy.

Now go pet your dog. Or your cat. Or your chinchilla.

It was before the official beginning. It was even before the soft launch. Nine years ago today, The Church at Avenue South held their very first service on Easter Sunday, April 20, 2014. It was right after we agreed to lease the space at 2510 Franklin Pike formerly known as the Acuff-Rose building.

As you can tell from the picture, the building was a mere skeleton. We set up 70 folding chairs in what would later become the children’s educational area known as The Grove. We had dreams of what God could do in the Berry Hill area of Nashville, but little did we know that God would do exceedingly abundantly beyond anything we could ask or think or dream.

Fast forward nine years, and we are on the cusp of moving into our very own building. It will be a new chapter in the exciting story that God is writing through the faithful obedience of His people to reach the city of Nashville. If it’s anything like the last chapter, it will be filled with the unexpected twists and turns but also full of hope. We will see God moving in ways we never could have imagined. I suspect it will be hard at times, but it will be worth it to have a front row seat to watch God change the lives of people and households and neighborhoods. And it all started with 70 chairs.