I was stressing over something unimportant, and God showed me an infant perched on his father's mighty arm. His father was making a muscle, and supporting the baby behind its back with his huge hand... The infant was doing a "startle" reflex, CLINGING to his father's mighty arm for dear life, as though it was the baby's job to hang on tight enough not to fall! When really, he could have spread his hands wide, and let go. Because his father was holding him against his chest, f

Early this morning I was proning and uncomfortable, and trying to pray. God brought to mind this amazing scene from the 2006 movie Apocalypto. Our hero is fleeing his pursuers and in desperation leaps over a great waterfall. As he comes out of the water at about the two minute mark in this video, his whole perspective changes, and he turns in defiance and gives this incredible speech...

As I think about it, I had definite plans for Christmas week and the following ones. But everything had to change. I survived the experience, but it was a good lesson to hold things lightly. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. Do you love someone? Tell them. Are you estranged from family or friends? Fix it. Do you have a dream vacation to an exotic location in the back of your mind? Book that ticket. Been engaged for years? Just marry the girl already!

It was one week into my admission into the hospital with Covid... I hadn't shaved in over a week and decided my Christmas gift to myself was to look presentable. I was kneeling at the sink with oxygen tube, trying to shave in their lukewarm water when a nurse came in. She started to fuss at me to get into bed, but took pity on me and helped me shave my head. I was utterly out of strength to lift my arms at that point, and don't think I could have finished on my own... I will

I grabbed an unknown book off my shelf on my way to the hospital with Covid. Someone had given it to me at least a decade ago, and it had sat on my shelf for years, unread. The title caught my eye, and so I stuffed it in my bag. It was With God in the Crucible: Preaching Costly Descipleship, by South African Pastor Peter Storey. I started reading that first day, and immediately burst into tears...

This morning, I was having Quiet Time, and God brought to mind the Amy Grant Christmas song Breath of Heaven. This song never really moved me in the past, but I Googled the lyrics anyway. I mean, God brought it up, right? I got to the chorus, and blinked hard. Breath of Heaven, Hold me together... I was not holding it together. I am still not. But I am improving physically. I want to be home with my wife. But I have to get better first. And that is not going to happen if

I lay down this afternoon to try to nap. And just like usually happens here in this hospital bed, it gets hard to breathe. It feels like my nasal passages just got restricted. It requires muscle to breathe only through my nose. Just like in the scary asthma attacks of my past. My heart rate jumps. My anxiety kicks in. I will myself to take slow steady breaths through my nose, when my mind is screaming to open my mouth and breathe! Breathe fast! Hurry! But God...

This man should have beat a hasty retreat. Unclean! That's what you do when you come across a leper. You Run. Just like in The Matrix when you meet an Agent. You Run... But instead, he drew near, and ministered. What an incredible way to love a stranger. Thank you God, for this man. Who made a visible calculation to risk his life and health to be with me here. To be Jesus to me.

At Christmas time, we talk and sing a lot about Mary, but do we ever give much thought to Joseph?