The Crown and how to have love that endures – Honest Advent Week 2, Part 5

My wife, Michelle, and I recently watched season 4 of The Crown on Netflix, a show about the current monarchy in England.  The more I watch that show, the more I think it should be called “The Marriage.”  Most of the central story lines are deeply affected by the various marriages of the characters.  NotContinue reading “The Crown and how to have love that endures – Honest Advent Week 2, Part 5”

For love to be love, it will cost you – Honest Advent Week 2, Part 4

I had a difficult time finding the picture above, the one with a man holding an umbrella for another guy. My difficulty didn’t have to do with the photo, but with the fact that I couldn’t figure out how to get the search algorithm to give me what I wanted. I use Unsplash for freeContinue reading “For love to be love, it will cost you – Honest Advent Week 2, Part 4”

Examine how you love – Honest Advent Week 2, Part 3

Examine how you love. Do you know how to examine your love? Or do you just assume that you are good at loving? Have you ever thought about that? As we continue studying Honest Advent, we are learning what gifts Jesus wants us to give him for Christmas. Last week we learned to give him theContinue reading “Examine how you love – Honest Advent Week 2, Part 3”

How to know if you a truly a follower of Jesus – Honest Advent Week 2, Part 2

I was recently talking with someone about their spiritual journey. They said that they grew up in a Christian family, and they didn’t remember having what some people call a “moment of decision,” which is a distinct memory of their willful choice to believe in and give their lives to Jesus. You might hear someContinue reading “How to know if you a truly a follower of Jesus – Honest Advent Week 2, Part 2”

What it means that “God is Love” – Honest Advent Week 2, Part 1

During Honest Advent we are looking at what gifts we can give Jesus. Last week we learned that one of the gifts he wants is our vulnerability.  What we are starting to find in this Advent series is that the gifts Jesus wants are gifts that he first gave us.  Think about how Jesus gaveContinue reading “What it means that “God is Love” – Honest Advent Week 2, Part 1″

Show vulnerability when you feel like an outsider – Honest Advent Week 1, Part 5

There’s one more story of vulnerability that I want us to learn from.  Turn to Luke 19:1-9.  At this point in the story of Jesus, he is on the way to Jerusalem where he will face his destiny.  But Jesus is not quite there yet.  He is passing through the nearby city of Jericho.  CrowdsContinue reading “Show vulnerability when you feel like an outsider – Honest Advent Week 1, Part 5”

How to reach out when you are helpless – Honest Advent Week 1, Part 4

Know the feeling?  If you’ve ever had a battle with a medical situation, maybe a mental health situation, maybe a difficult relationship, the story of this lady might resonate with you.  If you’ve ever struggled financially, wondering why it seems that you can never get ahead of the bills, or your car or house breakingContinue reading “How to reach out when you are helpless – Honest Advent Week 1, Part 4”

How to find power when you feel powerless – Honest Advent Week 1, Part 3

Being powerless is a terrible feeling, isn’t it? Do you know what I mean? It’s that helpless feeling when life is bulldozing you and there’s nothing you can do about it. In today’s post we find out a very powerful man became powerless in order to access true power, and how we can learn fromContinue reading “How to find power when you feel powerless – Honest Advent Week 1, Part 3”

Vulnerability means saying, “I don’t get it.” – Honest Advent Week 1, Part 2

For Advent 2020, we are following the themes in the book Honest Advent as we think about the gifts we can give Jesus in celebration of his birthday. As we saw in the previous post, in Week 1, we are giving him the gift of our vulnerability. To understand what vulnerability looks like, and howContinue reading “Vulnerability means saying, “I don’t get it.” – Honest Advent Week 1, Part 2″