Sticking to the path   Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.” John 15:5 NRSV   Vineyards (collectively)  in the U.S. make around $1.4 billion annually. Some produce wine. Some sell to wineries. Some do a little of both. Making wine is a big business.   I recently went…

Hope is the path we take in aligning our will with God’s In Wesley’s sermon #83 “On Patience”, he states: “Whereas in that moment when we are justified freely by his grace, when we are accepted through the Beloved, we are born again, born from above, born of the Spirit. And there is as great a change wrought in our souls when we are born of the Spirit, as was wrought in…

If you’re gonna have a mug shot, make sure it’s worth it. I recently toured the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta. A small group at church had completed a study on racial reconciliation and it seemed a fitting field trip to end their time together.   The main level of the museum is dedicated to the Civil Rights movement in the United States. It highlights historic locations in…

God is not punishing us. But it won’t be easy. I now have a teenage girl. Here is my prophecy: my prayer life will increase exponentially in the next few years. So let’s get started…   Dear God,   I’m a big believer in grace. I see it all over the Bible. You forgave Moses, David, Paul, Peter, the Samaritan woman. You have consistently shown me grace over the span of my…

Waiting vs Searching We got a new dog a few weeks ago. She’s pretty adorable. When you do something she hasn’t heard before like squeak a toy or make a new noise around her, she’ll perk her ears up and tilt her head. It kinda melts my heart each time.   She reminds me that there is still wonder to be discovered in the world. We just have to be open to…

If I’d known then:   My aunt gave me a book several years ago called “If I’d Known Then”. Its a collection of letters from women in their 20s and 30s that are written to their younger selves. I got this book over 10 years ago for a wonderful young woman named Brittany Bomba for her high school graduation. As part of the present, I also included a letter to myself on…