All of the following comes from Chris Brooks’ sermon from Kairos tonight dealing with the Gospel, Gender, and Trans-Gender.

The key to how we deal with people and culture is that we need both grace (kindness) and truth (conviction).

With all kindness and no conviction, you end up enabling instead of loving. With no kindness and all conviction, you might win the argument but you lose the person.

Jesus had both grace and truth, kindness and conviction. He told the woman caught in adultery that He didn’t condemn her but also to go and sin no more.

The Gospel is not “I’m okay, you’re okay– let’s try to be nicer to each other,” nor is it, “God hates you because you’re such a terrible sinner.”

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is that God loved the world– and you– so much that He gave Jesus so that no one need perish apart from God but find full and abundant eternal life in Jesus.

Happy 1st day of fall!

What does that mean for those of us who live in the great state of Tennessee? Absolutely nothing.

It’s still forecasted to be hot and sticky and very unsuitable for flannel and scarves and such.

Yes, there is pumpkin spice everything, but it’s not quite the same when the temperature is above 85.

But I’m still happy. My favorite season has landed and that means that sooner than later the real deal will arrive with crisp weather and brisk winds, complete with flannel-suited days and bonfire nights.

Hopefully, the leaves will change into a myriad of colors, but for me the best part is that at last the worst part of summer is over and the beginning of the best time of the year is here.

I posted this.

The is the same me who loves my sleep. Heck, I even took a nap today. It was a beautiful, glorious nap.

But I don’t need more sleep as much as I need to get out of myself and my little routines.

I need to see the world. I need to see the world around me where I live, work, and play.

I need to see that my life is the greatest adventure.

I need to see that every moment of my life is grace and if I had eyes to see, I’d see God around me everywhere at every moment.

Yes, tomorrow is that dreaded Monday, but that doesn’t mean there can’t be any magic or mystery or adventure.

Here’s to life. May we live it well.

Nerd post alert! If you’re not into things like Doctor Who and sci-fi and old British television, you might not want to read on.

You little rebel. I like you.

Yes, I have started back at the beginning of Doctor Who, way back in 1963 with the first Doctor, William Hartnell. It’s an interesting bit of trivia that the very first episode was set to broadcast on the very day that President John F. Kennedy was assasinated on November 22, 1963.

If you’re into the new Doctor Who, the old episodes take some getting used to. The special effects and sets aren’t quite as polished, but they give the old series a quaintness (at least in my opinion). Plus the old episodes are story-driven rather than special effects-driven anyway.

I love that first Tardis team of the Doctor, Susan, Ian, and Barbara. They made a great team that worked well together.

I still think it’s a shame that so many of the early episodes have been lost to history, but I’ll take what I can get.

Back to your regularly scheduled blog posts tomorrow.

“The true expression of Christian character is not in good-doing, but in God-likeness. If the Spirit of God has transformed you within, you will exhibit divine characteristics in your life, not just good human characteristics. The secret of a Christian’s life is that the supernatural becomes natural in him as a result of the grace of God, and the experience of this becomes evident in the practical, everyday details of life” (Oswald Chambers, from My Utmost for His Highest).

Let that sink in for a moment.

I’m thankful that it’s Friday Eve. That means of course that tomorrow is Friday. That means that I have nearly survived yet another week of life.

I’m tired. Coming back to a five day work week after a week of vacation and a four-day work week before that is tough. Especially when you have fresh memories of the beach and the faintest scent of ocean still lingering in your nose.

But tomorrow’s Friday. And Monday? That’s the official first day of fall (although I imagine it won’t feel much like fall with all the hot humidity still hanging around). But the day on the calendar means that cooler weather isn’t far behind.

I say TGIF, but I really mean TGFED, which stands for Thank God for Every Day. That’s how I feel more and more these days. Thank God for every day I get in this life.

“O my Father, give me eyes to see, a heart to respond, and hands and feet to serve you wherever you encounter me! Make me a billboard of your grace, a living advertisement for the riches of your compassion. I long to hear you say to me one day, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’ And I pray that today I would be that faithful servant who does well at doing good. In Jesus’ name I pray, amen” (Max Lucado).

I would only make one addition to this prayer:

“Help me to live in the freedom for which you died to set me free. Help me not to fall back into the yoke of slavery to approval-addiction or bitterness. May my life display your lovingkindness to everyone I meet today and every day. Amen.”

Mondays are hard. Especially after vacations.

But I found this little quote from Thomas Brooks that is a helpful reminder that God doesn’t abdicate His throne on Mondays. He’s still in charge.

I’m thankful that some Mondays are only 24 hours long.

I’m thankful that nothing that happens on any given Monday can take away my identity as God’s beloved child.

I’m thankful that when my eyes are fixed on Jesus, even Mondays can be good days.

My old boss used to say that any day without a toe tag is a good day.

I say any day when I’m covered by the grace of God is a very good day.

As much as I love going away on vacation, I equally love coming home to my little tortie furball. This time, she seems more grateful than ever to have me home for a while. She’s been more affectionate and cuddly than usual.

That’s the best part for any pet owner (in my opinion)– coming home to your pet, whether it’s at the end of the day or after being away for a while.

I love my little rescue feline. As I get older, I’m becoming more and more passionate about rescuing pets. Not that I’m completely opposed to buying a dog or cat from a breeder, but when you rescue an animal, you know they will be forever grateful. They usually end up being the best pets.

I don’t plan on going away any time soon, so little Peanut will have me around to make sure her food and water bowl are full and her litter box is empty. Also, she likes the occasional belly rubs. Basically, I’m more her servant than her owner.

But it’s a good gig. I think I’ll keep doing it for at least 15-20 years more.