I pray a lot. I even have a ‘prayer tub’ thanks to the generosity of others. In my old age I’ve come to realize that praying is of primal importance. The more time I spend doing it the better life seems. I love talking with God. I love praying with, and for, others. It’s tiring and sometimes it feels like war, but most of the time I come up…

"Fat Albert" This may come as a surprise to some of you, but I was a big boy when I was a kid and not big like cute chubby big… I'm talking like I was grossly obese big. Like if you saw me you would have been concerned for my health and well being. My overweightness started as a teenager and carried it's way till my sophmore year of…

A few years ago when I preached on the letter to the Hebrews, I was struck by the phrase, "Don't drift from your salvation." I wondered why that was so important -- why salvation would be the thing we wouldn't drift away from: why not Jesus, or the gospel? While reflecting on the story of Paul's conversion, I realized that in our initial encounter with Jesus, our unique identity…

I played competative kickball for 11 years growing up. From age 7 to 18, I was part of the Little Miss Kickball League in the Tip-O-Tex park of Texas. Trust me, it's a BIG thing in Texas - hundreds of girls in several cities across the state play in these leagues https://www.hometeamsonline.com/teams/?u=LMKII&s=htosports. I didn't just play. I crushed it. For maybe 8 out of the 11 years, I made…

I remember clearly when God told us we were going to adopt Ian.  We were at the Park Place Mall play area. I watched Ellen running around playing. I felt so much love for her and pride. Then I noticed the other kids and how they were so beautiful with all their differences of abilities and skin color and appearances. I felt a strong sense of peace come over…

As I reflect on this year, God seems like he’s after two themes in my life. First is demands: my demands, my kids demands, my husband’s demands, the demands of other people I know. Things I believe I am entitled to: my opinions, my longings, being heard, being understood, other people doing the right thing, people around me doing the considerate thing. But as I demand, consciously and unconsciously,…

Things you may not know about your elderly pastor: I was once arrested for robbing a Circle K convenience store. Fortunately the store clerk said he didn’t think it was me so they released me.  The first time I was ever in an airplane I parachuted out at 12,500 feet. I didn’t get to wear a flight suit because I was too tall and I had to wear a…

Anxiety. Some seven letter word that we use to try to describe a feeling that can't really be described. It seems that the experience of anxiety is as unique as the individual experiencing it. For many years (pretty much until I came to The Village) I didn't think that I suffered from this affliction. And those Christians who did, I callously supposed, should just "cast your cares (or anxieties)…

The Beginning It all started long ago. Cold, wet, busy, and rushed - the world swam with moving objects next to large machines. Somewhere in the grey city - the Sanctuary stood - beautiful and full of flickering lights. I'm not sure what happened that day, but it happen. Mercy poured out over my soul. It stood, and it cried for me. My heart lived in my throat, and…

Our son, Derek, who lives with us, went to the animal shelter eighteen years ago in order to rescue a couple kittens. The big, beautiful gray and white kitten who ran up and licked his hand when he tried to pet him was a shoo in to come to our home, but so was the tiny frightened black kitty mewling and crying the back corner of the cage. She…

Job, after all his suffering said, “Let the Almighty answer me!” Stephen, as they were about to drag him from the city and stone him, told them, “Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says ‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord, or what is the…

Are we going to heaven? I’m pretty sure my wife is. Is she going to see a bright white light when it’s time to go? How long will she be in the portal before it dumps her onto a golden sidewalk or maybe an impossibly white cloud? Will she still have hair? Body fluids and functions? A body??? As a kid, I had a mental image of a horizon…

I was outside with my son just hanging out in our backyard when I spotted a bumble bee on the gravel. The bee was struggling to walk and seemed unable to fly away. It was a sad sight. After a few minutes, the bee was still in the same spot, but seemed to have given up the fight. I picked him up with a leaf and put him on…

I love the band Jars of Clay. My aunt gave me their album If I Left The Zoo when it came out, but I didn’t really listen to it for a couple years. When I did actually listen to it, I loved it. The melodies are catchy, and it was different from any other Christian band I had listened to before. I have listened to everything they’ve done since…

I was going to write about an elaborate metaphor that included me cutting my finger. Instead, I decided to express gratitude to everyone in this amazing community and tell the villagers who I haven’t had the opportunity to talk to much a little bit about me. I have probably the most common name in the USA. John Henry Smith. I was born in Amarillo, TX and grew up on…

The summer of my first grade year, my family moved from Tucson Arizona to Miami Arizona. Miami is small mining town on your way to Roosevelt Lake. Often its residents just refer to it as the arm pit of Arizona, or maybe that’s just the people who lived there once and have managed to escape the small town. For me, living in Miami (or as my little brother used…