We vow to remain all our life with our local community. We live together, pray together, work together, relax together. We give up the temptation to move from place to place in search of an ideal situation. Ultimately there is no escape from oneself, and the idea that things would be better someplace else is usually an illusion. And when interpersonal conflicts arise, we have a great incentive to…

Last year, I had a wonderful Lenten Season. It was chock-full of prayers that got answered, awesome times of worship, and exciting insights into the Word.  I was really looking forward to such an experience this year. Alas.  This year, I’ve struggled with illness and discouragement the entire time.  When Eric asked at our monastic group a couple of weeks ago, how we all were doing with Lent,  my first thought was,…

Sometimes I’m the ‘clicker’. Somebody has to be the clicker so it might as well be me. The clicker has an important job. It requires some skill. When you’re the clicker timing is everything. You have to be attentive; completely hyper-vigilant. It can be rather exhausting paying that close of attention. It helps to suffer a bit with obsessive compulsive disorder. If you miss a click everything gets messed…

The old adage "Uz An't evr gonna teach a nu daug nu triks" is so very true. But for the truth be told my Heavenly Father because of The Works of His Son, My Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus, with the needed help and reliance upon the Holy Spirit, I did learn something new today. And that amazingly, flabbergasts and stupefies me with complete and utter perplexing dumbfounding awe.…

He owned the backyard. Or at least he thought he did. He wasn’t the nicest of neighbors. He went to war with any intruder daring to enter his property, driving them all away. An obnoxious defender of territory, he never backed down from a fight. He was certain that the beautiful purple desert sage bush at the far corner of the lawn belonged to him, as did the hummingbird…

During the first part of my Christian life, I did not know about the church calendar and I did not  observe Lent. In fact, I was confused about its meaning and thought of it as something only Catholic and Orthodox people did. My only exposure to it was that I’d hear classmates moaning about it in the school cafeteria. I just didn’t relate. Although I knew there was benefit…

The clouds go galloping off like Clydesdale plow horses, powerful, majestic, thunderous.  They leave cleansing, cooling rains that wash clean the dimly painted sky.  A million shimmering stars wink against the pristine night, glisten, gleam, and glow, calling to the One they know, telling of His glorious greatness.  In wordless, breathless praise announce the dawning of the day when the light comes crashing in.  Then clouds can be no…

Lent is the 46 day period before Easter: 6 Sundays of celebration amidst 40 days of fasting. During the Lenten season we are called to focus on Christ’s ministry and to spend extra time in prayer, repentance, self-sacrifice, and doing good works with a focus on the death and resurrection of Jesus. It is typical during this time for people to fast some element of food. In the early days…

I grew up on a small 160 acre farm near Pella, Iowa and it was a very different life than living here in the city. It was a life lived with a deep understanding of the natural world and of God and our dependence on him. Farmers are quite attuned to the world around them. They read the skies and recognize the different kinds of clouds and what weather…

The prayer tub wasn’t working. It was a couple weeks ago and it just quit. The lovely Mrs. Hugen went out one morning to relax in it only to discover ice cold water and no electrical power to the spa. The Encouraging Discipling Communities conference was fast approaching and I wasn’t able to any longer sit in the spa in the middle of the night and pray because it…

In a dry and weary land, Where there are no running streams, We have dug one thousand wells And parched our tongues with broken dreams.   You, oh Lord, have said, "Return To me, the spring that quenches thirst. Stop, remember I have called You to me, who loved you first.   "You have wandered far from me. Yet I am ever close behind. Leave the empty cracked cisterns,…

  I By Julie Brunson, October 2017 One of the things that happens in the church is that sin gets identified as more significant than grace. It becomes something to hide in shame, especially when it’s something we don’t seem to be able to conquer without help. This fear creates demand that we define sin in such a way that we don't commit it. We don’t want to be…

The pursuit of perfection has crippled me. It has stolen the words from my tongue. It has questioned every longing that flows from my fickle heart. Perfection showed up at my doorstep one day. Rudely unannounced. His piecing eyes contained a deep seeded pain, a malevolent strength. He saw right through me to my twisted desire. Before I could tell him to go away he made himself at home.…

Many of you know that I'm the official "administrator" of The Village Conference 2017: Encouraging Discipling Communities. In that role, I have begun in earnest some of the promotion efforts for our conference. Many of the key things we teach at the Village are somewhat contrary, if not all out contradictory, to the standard concept of promotional efforts. I'm going to be speaking on "Leading in Weakness." Now in…