“A mosaic consists of thousands of little stones. Some are blue, some are green, some are yellow, some are gold. When we bring our faces close to the mosaic, we can admire the beauty of each stone. But as we step back from it, we can see that all these little stones reveal to us a beautiful picture, telling a story none of these stones can tell by itself.

That is what our life in community is about. Each of us is like a little stone, but together we reveal the face of God to the world. Nobody can say: ‘I make God visible.’ But others who see us together can say: ‘They make God visible.’ Community is where humility and glory touch” (Henri Nouwen).

You could say the same about stained glass. Individually, they’re just shards of broken glass, but together, they make some of the most captivating and stunning artwork you’re likely to see.

That’s why community is important. Each has unique gifts and talents that no one else. When you put all those together, you really do become better together than you would be apart. Each member makes all the others better and can be strong where the other is weak, and visa versa.

That’s why community for believers isn’t just a nice idea or a good option. It’s vital.

Sometimes it seems hard to believe that on this day 11 years ago, Nashville was in the midst of its heaviest 2-day rainfall ever. I remember that it poured rain non-stop for 2 straight days. It rained so much that Nashville ended up in a 1000-year flood.

I remember seeing news videos of roads and blocks and even interstates flooded. I distinctly remember seeing one of those portable schoolhouse buildings floating down the interstate in all the floodwater.

I was stuck at home for a bit because I couldn’t get out of my neighborhood. That was one of the craziest weeks I can recall ever having lived through. I hope I never live to see anything like it again.

But I also remember how Nashville came together and helped those in need. We put aside out differences and were able to clear out flood-damaged debris from homes and help people in the process of rebuilding and starting over.

It’s sad that it takes a disaster or a catastrophe to bring people together like that. Even in the Church, it often takes a crisis to pull us together in the kind of unity that Jesus said we should have all the time.

But it’s a beautiful thing when people do decide to work together in harmony. I think that’s because it’s a glimpse of what heaven will be like all the time.

I did it. I got the first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine today.

It was not planned. I found out that the Publix pharmacy had some shots left over that they were going to have to throw away if they weren’t used, so I went and volunteered.

This is not about whether or not vaccines are good or bad. This is not about who’s right or wrong about the vaccine. This is about me making my own personal decision to put the greater good above my own personal preferences. This is about me wanting for life to return to normal.

For the record, I have received a flu shot for the last few years. As far as I can tell, I show no signs of growing a third arm or mutating into a different species. Again, it’s all about me making a decision that works for me.

I hope and pray you will be free to make the choice to get a vaccine or not. I also hope and pray that you will make an informed choice, not one based on conspiracy theories or what you read on social media but one informed by actual medical opinion from a doctor or nurse that you know and respect.

So whatever choice you make, I really hope and pray that you will respect those who choose differently. This is still America where we are free to live as we see fit based on our beliefs and convictions. I don’t want to see everyone forced to take a vaccine against their will, but I also don’t want this pandemic to continue.

In short, I don’t know a whole lot. I definitely don’t want to speak for anyone else, but I think that in my own best judgment getting a COVID vaccine was the right call for me to make. I want us all to be able to think for ourselves and not blindly trust any politician or media outlet that tries to tell us what to think and how to live.

I’m a bit weary, so I won’t add a whole lot other than to say that I have repeatedly found this to be true in my own life. The less I try to live under the illusion of control, the less I worry and fret and the more peace I have. Also, the less I pretend to be god of my own world, the more I see the real God in my world.

It’s not something that I regularly think about. I confess that I don’t really spend much time thinking about the joy of the Lord. I tend to dwell on my own joy (or lack of joy).

But if the joy of the Lord is my strength, then I should probably try to figure out what it is. I should take time to understand what kind of joy that the God of the universe could have.

I do think that God’s joy is perfect. It’s not mixed with baser emotions or diluted like human joy. It’s not on-again, off-again like mine is. It’s 100% all the time never ending pure joy. Sure, it’s a joy that is based out of God’s holiness, but I like to think God has a joyful holiness as well as a holy joy.

God, may your joy be my joy. May what brings you pleasure be the desire of my own heart. I don’t know what I want half the time, so help me to want what You want. May Your joy truly be my strength tomorrow and the next day and every day after that. Amen.

“By faith we see things that are invisible to others and by faith we believe in advance those things that right now make no sense but one day will make perfect sense because we will view them in reverse. Faith means believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse” (from Keep Believing Ministries).

As the old movie said, faith is believing even when common sense tells you not to. I think that’s somewhat accurate, but I really like the quote that says that sometimes seeing isn’t believing; believing is seeing.

Faith is putting what you know above what you feel. You know deep in your soul that all of God’s promises are true and that God is faithful even when your feelings tell you otherwise. You know that God sees the entire picture and you see only a small part even when your feelings tell you that God doesn’t see at all.

Sometimes, we’re like the man who’s begging Jesus to heal his son. He says to Jesus, “If you can . . .” Jesus responds, “If? Don’t you know that with Me, all things are possible?” The man’s reply might echo our own — “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.”

That’s where most of us are most of the time. We want to believe and have a willing spirit, but the flesh is weak. We have too many distractions and too many conflicting voices that contradict what we know to be true about God. Faith is going to a quiet place away from all the noise and clamor and claiming God’s promises as true, even when they don’t feel true. You keep saying it until you finally start to feel it deep down in your core. Even if the feelings don’t come, you know that while feelings may lie, God never does.

Trust in the heart of God. Believe what you know to be true over what you feel. Be still and know that He is God.

It was a glorious night. After something like 14 months, Kairos finally returned to its Tuesday night roots — if only for one night. Still, it felt like for once I could go back.

There’s something about a night focused on worship to get me out of my normal self-centered focus and see Jesus a little clearer in the midst of my crazy week. It was good to get a reminder that all of God’s promises are still YES and AMEN in Jesus.

Of course, it was nice to be able to do my fine dining at Chik-fil-A afterward with my Spicy Southwest Salad comfort food. I didn’t hang around to socialize much — I ate and headed toward my car to go home. 40 may be the new 30, but I’m fairly certain that for me, 9 pm is the new midnight, especially when I’ve been up since 5 am.

But I hope this becomes a regular event. I hope that more people find in Kairos a place of refuge and rest from the relentless madness of the everyday weekday life. I hope more people find a place to center and to slow their breathing and to be still and know that He is God.

I’m thankful for the tireless dedication of all those who made this night happen. I’m very much blessed to be a part of it and to play a very small part in it. I’m also thankful for those beautiful people at Chik-fil-A for their pre-blessed Christian chicken than never fails to give me warm and fuzzy feelings inside.

I hope that worship doesn’t become just another event or a state of euphoria but slowly but surely develops into a lifestyle and a state of mind that sees God not just in a church building on Sundays and Tuesdays but at every turn in every place in all the days of the week.

I went to Radnor Lake State Park this afternoon after work and did my super hike. It was just as good as I had hoped it would be. I’ll stop short of saying it was magical, but it was close.

There’s just something about being able to drive a bit off the main road in the middle of the city of Nashville and find pure nature. I don’t know why being in nature is so therapeutic, but it does wonders for my soul. I honesty don’t know why I don’t go into nature more often.

For me, it almost feels like a sacred place that I would profane by talking, so I try to be silent and pay attention as much as possible. Sometimes, I get caught up in my own thoughts and lose track of what’s around me, but I’m training myself to be in the moment as much as possible, so I don’t miss anything.

At Radnor, what I might miss are the deer, turkeys, squirrels, chipmunks, and other assorted wildlife critters. Plus, the way the sun shining through the trees creates such amazing shadow and light. So I figure my job is to keep my eyes open and just be amazed.

I hear that also works well in life. I just might try it.

“We overvalue nonessentials like a nicer car or house, or even intangibles like the number of our followers on Twitter or the way we look in our Facebook photos. As a result, we neglect activities that are truly essential, like spending time with our loved ones, or nurturing our spirit, or taking care of our health” (Greg McKeown, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less).

I’m guilty of spending too much time and energy over stuff that really doesn’t matter while neglecting those things that do matter. This culture has mastered the art of valuing what is worthless and trashing the sort of treasures that no one can put a price tag on. Even those within the Church culture sometimes get mixed up on what really matters and what doesn’t.

The Bible says to seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and everything else will fall into place. All those things that money can’t buy will be yours if you make God your first priority. Otherwise, you end up chasing after all the wrong things and end up with basically nothing in the end.

Seeking after God in true faith is never a wasted effort.

“God is at work. He does not slumber.
Christ intercedes. He does not fail.
The Spirit comforts. He does not forsake.
Be at rest. Be at peace.
Your name at the end of the day is Beloved” (Ann Voskamp).

Whether you finished the week with flying colors or barely inched across the finish line with zero strength left to spare, your name at the end of the day is Beloved.

No matter whether you feel like you’ve got a plan for your life that you’re working or if you have no control over anything, your name at the end of the day is Beloved.

God couldn’t love you any more if you kept every single commandment and somehow managed to be perfect all week long. He couldn’t love you any less if you screwed up every single good intention and broke all ten commandments in 24 hours.

You are always loved perfectly by a perfect God who’s love is always 100%, even when you probably deserve 0%. That’s the good news of the gospel. In case you forgot.