These past weeks have shown us – if we didn’t realize – what happens when fire comes sweeping through a community. For some, this is the first up-close and personal look of the power…and the cost…of fire. Fire is a big deal to me, ever since I watched our RV burn years ago, just after we scrambled out of it to the side of the freeway. It’s not just that fire and smoke destroyed it – and many things in it – it’s more what happened inside me as I responded to it. The pain and trauma of that moment has long gone, but during it I felt a sense of danger, harm and fear. Trauma can occur when we face a perceived threat or dangerous situation. It is an unconscious reaction to bad things that are happening or have happened. Depending on our different personal experiences, history, and personality, the same event can provoke different reactions within each of us. It could be loss, grief, numbness, fear, confusion, disorientation…or some combination of these things. And the intensity of these re...

My heart always has been stirred by the songs of Christmas. The words of our hymns and carols often express the theology and beliefs of Christian faith, which enables us to learn God’s truth, even as we sing. In addition, there often is a story behind the song that helps us to appreciate it more. One of my favorite carols (and I’m obviously not alone in this) is Silent Night, written by Joseph Mohr and Franz Gruber in 1818. I never cease to be amazed that this Christmas classic only came about as the result of a problem.  In a village near Salzburg, Austria, it was a snowy Christmas Eve. Joseph Mohr, an assistant pastor at St. Nicholas Church, was preparing for the midnight service but the church organ was broken. How could there be music without an organ? And a Christmas service without music was unthinkable!  Desperately searching for options, Mohr showed Gruber (the church organist and choir master) a poem he had written two years earlier while serving in a diff...

One day my three-year old grandson, Broen, didn’t want to eat his breakfast; he just wanted to play. His dad gave him a consequence, repeated three times: “If you don’t eat, I will take the food away and give it to you for lunch.” What did Broen do? He threw a huge tantrum which included yelling and crying.  So how did my son respond? Matthew asked Broen if he was frustrated and if he needed a hug. Broen nodded yes to both questions. He put his three-year-old arms around his dad’s neck, and his dad responded by patting his head and holding him tight. The result? That little boy calmed down. Sometimes when I watch Broen’s behavior with his dad, I see a reflection of my own relationship with God. My Heavenly Father says “no”, or “not now”, and I don’t like my desires being crossed. Like Broen, I get frustrated. Like him, I think my way is better. Like a three-year old, I don’t want to listen or obey, so instead I whine. I even may step back from God because he has not done wha...

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas whenever we rediscover the simplicity of His love. David Jeremiah I still remember clearly the Christmas when the idea embodied in this quote really grabbed my attention. Thanksgiving had just passed, and Christmas with all its busyness was upon me: shopping, baking and activities galore. Into this mix…all of sudden…my car was rear-ended at a stoplight by another car driving at high speed. My busyness came to a stand still, and this unexpected intrusion resulted in a different type of Christmas season. A more reflective one. God used an unexpected event to slow me down so I could more richly experience his presence in the fullness of the season. I had to let go of my plans and embrace God’s plans. So…instead of shopping and baking and attending parties that year, I was doctor-visiting and couch-sitting. After I worked through a personal pity party, the words from 2 Thessalonians 3:16 came to mind, “Now may the Lord of peace Himself...