wisdom from the sages

The Lord travels in all directions
at once.

The Lord arrives from all directions
at once.

Wherever we are, we find that
He has just departed.

Wherever we go, we find that
He has just arrived before us.

Thomas Merton

the reluctant conversationalist

Are you supposed to speak to someone about something? Ever had the nudge on your heart like I know I should go speak to so-and-so. Do you ever have this sense that this conversation is long over due? Maybe it’s time to have this little talk.

Is it possible that future events hang in the balance while we deliberate the “right time” to have the conversation?

As we look back through the sacred narrative of God’s people, do we see any history changing conversations that almost did not take place because of mankind’s hesitation to say what needs to be said? In retrospect, it’s hard not to acknowledge the fact that we come from a long line of reluctant conversationalist. We are a people who are convinced that things will or will not somehow work themselves out. Rather than speaking the words of truth that must be said, we cower in fear of meeting face to face with these life issues for fear of discomfort and what the outcome might be.

The reluctant ancient ones:

Jacob did not want to meet face to face with his brother Esau after stealing his birthright blessing.

Joseph did not want to talk with his brothers in Egypt after they had betrayed him.

Moses questioned whether or not he could speak to Pharaoh.

Ester seemed reluctant to tell the King her true Jewish heritage.

Jonah was completely defiant in wanting to speak to the people of Nineveh.

It is amazing to think of these conversational events as somehow locked in sacred time, waiting until someone would have the courage and faith to have the talk they knew they should have with the person they know to have it with. What was waiting to happen?

Would the wound of a brother remain unforgiven?

Would the heart of a family remain broken?

Would 2 million people remain in bondage?

Would an entire people be executed?

Would a complete city be destroyed?

We now know the massive power of healing and freedom that resulted because the pioneers of faith had the conversations that needed to take place. We know the life changing potential in having the heart to heart talk with those whom we are seemingly at odds with or disconnected with. This must be the tone of the redemptive movement of the Redeemer. Hearing the Voice of the-One-who-holds-all-things-together is one thing, but having the courage to act on it is the difference between really living and barely breathing.

How can one know what to say in those intense moments? Is it possible to be guided by the divine in the conversations of our lives? Is it possible to be so in tune with the sacred rhythm of the Spirit of God to say what needs to be said? What does it look like on earth to live this way?

Jesus Christ

Conversation after conversation, Jesus always seems to “go there” with everyone he meets. Maybe that is why people were so affected by the words he said. His words seemed to shoot like arrows straight to the wounds of the heart. He was the perfect agent of restoration. His words may have seemed difficult to his hearers, but they contained the potential to set the hearer free should they allow the truth to enter into their protected personal world. His words were the balm of healing to the wounds of their soul.

So the question remains, could the words of the young disciples of Jesus contain the same power to restore the decay in the hearts of the shattered and broken? Could they release freedom for the prisoners?

How many days will pass before we bow our heads, bend our knees, and engage in the conversations that could change life as we know it?

While it is still day, may it be on earth as it is in Heaven.

missing the best part of me

The last two days Darla has been in PC with her parents and the girls so I have been home alone. Locked in our bedroom, I try to go to sleep without being startled by the littlest creek and pop. “It is not good for man to be alone,” it’s the ancient word. How true it is. I am not “good,” when I am alone. Good meaning balanced. These last couple of days I felt like I haven’t been in my right mind. Just off balance. I realize this morning as I read Proverbs 31, how incredible is it to have a wife who fears the LORD.


A good woman is hard to find, and worth more than diamonds.

She senses the worth of her work, is in no hurry to call it quits for the day.

She’s skilled in the crafts of the home and health, diligent in homemaking.

She’s quick to assist anyone in need, reaches out to help the poor.

She makes her own clothing, and dresses in colorful linens and silks.

These are just a couple of characters of the one I call love. You are my wife!

yada' derek

Put GOD in charge of your work, then what you've planned will take place.

Proverbs 16:3 (The Message)

yada' derek = (knowing the way) by letting it find you [Ps. 143:8]

letting go of yesterday

Another page of the Abrahamic journey... Step one sell all your possesions. The difficult thing about this step is remembering all the amazing things God has done in the midst of us from this house. Many tender hearts have come through the doors of this house and into our lives to reveal the Great Restoration Project among us.

I have to remind myself that things are only things and that it is through people that the Divine weaves his healing dreams.

I knew the day that Chris painted the trim on the house, that one day soon we would be selling this house. I am so thankful for his act of giving to our family. His wife and family were a refuge house for us when we were wounded from the accident. Even though we are not as close as we used to be, I know that their friendship was a gift. May they know the reward for their tender care.

From family and friends to the youth we have served, we have seen so many lives transformed on the floor of our living room. I pray that this house would continue to be used to meet people where they are and help them find hope in tomorrow.

Although it is hard to say goodbye, we cannot stay here and at the same time go to the place that the One who holds all things together is leading us. May everyone who reads this story find themselves thinking towards the courage to take whatever step of faith you may sense tugging on your heart. May you know the peace of the One who is bringing all things back to the way they were originally intended to be. Amen.

a week of things coming full circle

Living in the now
when the past comes forward
so that the future can be set in motion today

I heard this message illustrated in a teaching from Rob Bell recently. I had no idea that it was going to be a life lesson that would literally be played out in my every day life.

Things come full circle
At the age of nineteen, I began my first career. It was in a men’s retail clothing chain. Along the way I made some really selfish and lazy choices. Four years later near the end of that job, I was an assistant manager in a store in Mobile, Alabama. One busy Saturday I was running the register. A lady was buying lots of back to school clothes for her kids. There was a promotional on some silk shirts buy two get them both at half price. I noticed that I had rang up just one silk shirt for her at full price. I told her to pick out one more because of the promotion. When she did, rather than ring it up, I just put it in the bag. I was lazy and didn’t want to void the whole transaction and start over. One of the other employees informed our loss prevention team at the home office. A few days later, the man from loss prevention, dressed all in black, came and interviewed all management staff. When he sat down with me, he had the sales journal tape with the transaction in question. He explained to me that I had two choices; I could stay and defend the alleged violation of which they would persecute to the full extent of the law or I could resign immediately. I choose the second.

That event caused a domino effect of things. Being newly married for only a few months, this was a deep wound at the core of my identity as a man, and as the provider for the home. I didn’t know it at the time, but it was the shaping of my understanding of the character of integrity.

Yesterday, while at lunch I was journaling about how life is like a mosaic. In the middle of writing, I looked up, and the man from loss prevention walked right past me. After living for nearly 10 years with this wound, I thought to myself I am not going to let this opportunity to share with him how my journey has come full circle. When he came back by the second time, I stopped him and asked him what his name was. He did not recognize me. I told him that we had first met in Mobile a long time ago. He was amazed that I remembered him. I shared with him that I was wrapping up a rewarding career in marketing and public relations in order to go start a new mission work in Honolulu. He was very pleased that I had done well and that I was moving on to do a positive work for others. He asked if I had spoken with any of the people from Mobile. I told him that I had not but I did marry on of the assistant managers from another store, Darla. He asked if I had a picture of my family. I showed him a picture of my family that I carry in my journal. He wished me the best and went on to order his food.

This week has been a week of things coming full circle, from the wedding of my little brother, the reuniting of my family, and the remembrance of my own beginnings in marriage and friendships of the past.

The past has been brought forward so that the future may move forward today! Wow! That is absolutely crazy! I must be in life therapy lying on God’s couch. All I can say is that my soul is being restored. Amen.

the first deep wound of sacred marriage

Have you ever been faced with a really difficult question? Is it possible that many small questions make up the sum of the one larger question?

Once again I find myself in the sacred narrative of history. Abram is confronted with a life size question in the face of desperation. He has set out on the journey to leave the country that he has known, from his father’s house to go to the land that God will show him, along the way a famine forces him to go down to Egypt. Pharaoh wants to know who the beautiful woman is that he is traveling with. Realizing that if he says it is his wife, he will be killed. He answers that she is his sister. His question is “Will I trust the promise of God or will I lean on my own means of security?

I wonder how this made Sarai feel. Did she think he cares more about his own hide than our marriage? Was this the beginning of the seed of doubt for Sarai that spurred on her rebellious spirit to try and bring about the “blessing of God” (Gen 12) by her own means?
Did she think her husband was a coward in the face of uncertainty? Did she think that their future was now up to her to provide? How old is this wound? Does this wound speak to more than just Sarai? Is this a deep wound that runs though generations of wives even today?

The ripple effect of “Sarai is my sister:”
His wife is stripped away from him possibly physically violated by Pharaoh
His is left alone to wonder if she will ever come home
His wealth on account of his lie results in the division of his family (Lot)
The Egyptian maidservants provides the temptation to further his own seed (Hagar)
The implications of this span the course of the next 12 years of Abram’s life…..

Here is the question I am asking myself: Will I take into my own hands my family’s future promise or will I trust in the promise of life from the LORD?

As a man of God, will I be tempted to make a choice in order to avoid losing my life as the first great test? Will I keep sacred the bond of marriage in the face of great disparity?
How I answer that question has huge implications for the rest of my family. Will I continue to foster the first wound of marriage or will I stand and claim “she is my wife!”

Although not what God had intended, he uses all of it to bring about redemptive history. A second chance is given. How does the story end?

living in the big dream

Does God have dreams? Does He have dreams about how the world could be? Does God even sleep? If God doesn’t sleep then He must dream awake. How would it be to be dreaming while awake? Does God dream of pain and brokenness? Does God have nightmares? When He first breathed life into the dirt of the earth, did his dream become a reality to mankind? When we lay down, do we give way to the dream of God?

I am dreaming awake, excuse me while I dream. I love exploring God’s dream with others. After spending time thinking of the Big Dream, it brings me a deep joy to explore the reality of His dream that has played out for centuries and continues to linger like a beautiful vision of healing and restoration for the heavens and the earth. Whether it is one on one or in a large group, being engaged with people in an outward discussion of what is happening on the inside is the dream in my heart. It is this dream that drives me to serve him and submit to His dream.

Sharing my all with my wife and serving others together is a day in the life of my dream.

When my wife serve others with her creative gifts,
my dream continues.
When my daughters ask questions, search for answers, and come calling on my help,
my dream continues.
When broken pieces of my family are restored,
my dream continues.

When the advancements of technology become conduits for people to be connected in the best possible sense,
my dream continues.

A blank canvas is the beginning of a new dream. When I can give creative space for others to put their hands and hearts to a blank canvas,
my dream continues.
When instruments are available for the musicians to pick up and sing the song in their hearts,
my dream continues.
When I finish working in the yard and step back to see how I have joined in ordering God’s creation,
my dream continues.

What are you dreaming? Have you been sleep? Is it at the end of the day that our dreams play out the things in our normal life that we haven’t fully processed? What if you could work through the questions during the day? What if you could go to sleep in peace resting in the solace of the night? What might Psalm 37:4 mean to you in light of delighting in God’s dream? What dreams and visions might visit you?

who are these people...

What if we actually lived out this life that Jesus proclaimed was available here and now? He seemed to have a real grasp on what people who lived in the reality of the-way-God-intended-things-to-be would look like here on earth:

Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5

Could this be the character shape of a new kind of people living the reality of “on earth as it is in Heaven?" This profile is so much deeper than just external appearances. Not to challenge the words of Paul in 1Timothy in regards to a leader, but to give a fuller dimension of who kingdom people are on the inside. Jesus was always talking about this idea that it is not about what you do on the outside but who you are on the inside, or its not about a list of things not to do rather it is about the kind of inner shape of your character.

The word blessed in Greek does mean happy or fulfilled, but when Rabbi Jesus spoke he would have been speaking from a Hebrew understanding of the word “blessed” which was “barak.” The hearers of this message would have immediately drawn a picture in their mind of a person “bent at the knees.” The forefathers of the faith for centuries have been a people “bent at the knee” before the LORD their God, their Maker. They understood this “bent at the knee” not as as just a physical position but as an inner spiritual submission to the Way of Life or to as they called it Torah. Living Torah was living the Word of God in our current reality. This way of living was an acknowledgement of Yahweh or to put it another way “bent at the knee” was an inner attitude of worship to Yahweh expressed outwardly throughout ones whole life.

“Bent at the knee” is the condition of the heart to enter the “on earth as it is in Heaven” reality. To enter into that reality is to bring Heaven down here, or to restate it to bring the Presence of God into our current reality through the everyday activities of life. Living this kind of lifestyle we join in the restoration revolution of people who lived in the reality of the-way-God-intended-things-to-be.

“Bent at the knee” are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Bent at the knee” are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Bent at the knee” are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Bent at the knee” are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
“Bent at the knee” are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
“Bent at the knee” are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Bent at the knee” are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
“Bent at the knee” are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Bent at the knee” are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.


May we be “Bent at the knee” people before the LORD, our God, our Creator, and King.

collision....point of impact

What happens in a collision? What is the most intense point of impact? It is the point at which two moving masses impact into one. I think our point of impact is Love. Collaborating in creative outward expressions of Love, we engage the shattered and broken opening the door to the Merciful One who is restoring all things, and in so doing we join the deep streams of healing that flow on earth as they are in Heaven.

When the poets and the musicians celebrate together, all of creation turns its ear to hear the divine harmony. Who can resist the melody of faith, hope, and love? We stand together putting all our trust in the Father of all families knowing that he is stretching the cords of his great tent. This invisible tent stretches across generations of yesterday, today, and tomorrow, across cultural traditions, and geographical boundaries.

The Winn Family, a people of the Real Zoo, has joined hands and hearts with the people of Crash to form one community of faith.

The project of the Real Zoo is not ours but rather is guided by the One who is the Breath of Life. The truth is mobile. It goes wherever we find ourselves. Our faith is not based on our location but rather where our hearts reside. Through what can only be explained as divine intervention our location will transition from Tallahassee to Panama City (June) and finally to the Island of Hawaii (Jan-Feb 07). I guess you could say we have made the jump, we are selling all our possessions, leaving our successful careers, in order to “go.”

The pieces are beginning to fall into place. The shape of God’s project looks like a creative community of families living under one converted warehouse roof in order to share in the incredible story of love and hope expressed locally to the people of downtown Honolulu, but still reaching far beyond the island because of the transient nature of the culture and people.

This is a new chapter in the book of Life. We are so excited just to be invited to sow into a new expression of love. May we look with eyes of faith and hear with ears of compassion to the hearts of all that might enter into the narrative of Restoration.

Who do you say God is?

Having stepped out of “Big church” nearly 18 months ago, I have wrestled with what does it mean to be an expression of faith on earth today. Over the last several months it has become increasingly clear that it really doesn’t matter what I say I believe about God, what matters is what does my life speak about how I live who God is.

Here are some questions to explore:

If I say that God is like a Father, but yet I hold a grudge against my father till the day I die, then do I really live what I say to be true?

If I say that I believe that Jesus was the atonement for the wrongs of all generations, but at the same time I consistently refuse to forgive others, then do I really live what I say to be true?

If I say that I believe that God created the heavens and the earth with the power of his words, and yet I consistently choose to rip people apart with my words of criticism and slander, then do I really live what I say to be true?

If I say that God is best expressed in my limited vocabulary as a Community of Oneness (Father, Son, and Spirit), and yet I can’t stand to be around other people and have no interest what-so-ever in getting together with other people who are curious about God, then do I really live what I say to be true?

If I believe that Jesus conquered death so that I might know true life, and yet I walk this earth as a dead man without hope by constantly refusing to face the decay and pain in my heart by numbing it with materialism, chemicals, or any other substitute, then do I really live what I say to be true?

If I believe that God gave up his only Son for generations of people he has never met, but I can’t part with my favorite _______, then do I really live what I say to be true?

If I believe that “church” is the expression of Jesus on earth now, and all I do is go to a building with a steeple on the top once a week and label myself as a “church-goer”, then do I really live what I say to be true?

If I believe the words of Jesus when he says “anyone who wants to find real life must give up his life now,” and yet I wouldn’t dare risk leaving my successful career in order to share and give my life away to a group of people that I have never met, then do I really live what I say to be true?

This was just a starter list for me…what if I went through all the list of things I say that I believe in and I find that nowhere in my life do I see evidence that I am living out these core beliefs? Is it possible that I am not really who I say I am? As much as society would have us to believe that our identity is based on a list of things we say we believe in, I just don’t think that is a reality of who God sees as an expression of faith on earth today.

sick and tired of being sick and tired

Monday night I checked into our local Urgent Care facility after battling with sinus pressure and sneezing for the last seven days. The diagnosis was a viral infection to which I was prescribed a nasal spray and a magic pill that was supposed to make feel better. Mostly I feel weak and light headed with a runny nose.

All of that said, I am very excited about meeting Darla’s friend Candace and her husband Brian last Sunday. What an incredible journey they are on! I think about them everyday. My hope is that the One who holds all things together will give them wisdom and focus for the path that He has laid out for them. After sharing our stories together for eight hours straight, I got a sense that we share the same passion to see the movement of love-hope-and-grace move forward.

The Creator only knows how far reaching his Project will bring together families, friends, and strangers to fulfill his purpose. May we all keep our eyes and ears open to hear what the Spirit of God is saying. May it be on earth as it is in Heaven.

PS. I am glad Jesus’ mission includes healing the sick, especially those like me who are sick and tired of being sick and tired.

the formation of a family of faith in Tallahassee

Over the last few years it has become apparent to us that there is more to this life of hope than just attending a church building on any given Sunday. Not to discredit the fact that despite our miserable attempts to “do church” the One who is Truth seems to redeem our acts of service and worship in any given setting. In our journey over the last 18 months, we have experienced a variety of seasons, extreme pain (leaving the Intuitional Church & enduring the after effects of a SUV roll over accident involving our entire family), acknowledging our wounds (admitting the self inflected wounds as well as those from our friends and family), a healing time (being willing to forgive others and ourselves and to move towards re-entering the larger community of faith).

By no means does this mean that we have it all figured out, far from it. What it does mean is that we are passionate about what it means to Love God with all of our being and to love others in the same way that we love ourselves. We sense that we have been brought through these various seasons for a reason. One is to connect with our ancient fathers of the faith who experienced the painful departure of what they knew as home, deal with their own inner demons, and then make the turn towards a life of giving hope to others who are afraid to step into real life. Two is that we are meant to be connected with people who are searching for a real expression of faith that is not dependant upon one fixed headquarters but that is good news goes where ever we go.

It is at this juncture that we find ourselves today. It seems the next step is to ask the One who gathers together those who wander in order that we might be brought together in his expression of faith in this community of Tallahassee.

May you the Creator of all things bring about the formation of a family of hope. Let not our eyes be blinded or jaded by the outward appearance of our new brothers and sisters. Rather give us the eyes of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to see your hands at work in the hearts of our fellow man. Come with haste lest we grow weary in the journey. May our divine mission be as was yours: to bind up the broken hearted as you have bound us, to proclaim liberty as you have liberated us, to open the prison doors of despair as you have release us, and as we go about our day may the good news about what the LORD has done for us be on our lips. Thank you for hearing our prayers for you are the Faithful One. Amen.

stories from the road of faith

With permission of a close friend, I am sharing this email with my fellow travelers on the road of faith.

Last Friday I was driving from Denver to Colorado Springs in a little 1994 LeBaron (picture it...not very studly). Right outside a little town called Monument, the serpentine belt slipped off and the temperature gage shot up. I drove it to the only mechanic in the town and had a rental agency come deliver a car while he kept mine for the weekend.

Getting back on the freeway, in a much nicer ride, I saw and old Indian or Hispanic man with luggage standing by the road. I just had a strong feeling I was supposed to pick him up and give him a ride. Maybe it was because I had just experienced the desperation of not having transportation. As it turns out, he was on his way back to Phoenix after visiting a relative that was sick in Denver. His name was Ordell Iron Shell. After some small talk about his native Indian culture he told me how similar some of the old Indian spiritual lessons were to those found in Jesus' teachings. Then he spent the rest of the way to Colorado Springs telling me how Jesus had changed his life after being in the military. He explained several ways he's experienced having new life in Christ...being dead to self but alive in Him. He sang one of the Christian worship songs he has set to traditional Indian rhythms/chants and told me how he is focused on sharing Christ’s message through his music.

Listening to this extremely optimistic and focused man caused the trip to pass really quickly. I dropped him off in a parking lot close to where the Interstate splits toward Phoenix. He thanked me and I thanked him for reminding me how God cares for us in all situations, especially those in which we can’t see the future. I drove off with him standing at the edge of a big restaurant parking lot sprinkled with cars. As I made a U-turn, I thanked God for the image of a man that had “nothing”…no transportation, no financial security, no impressive job tile…but who continued to openly praise God. After making the quick U-turn, I glanced back to wave. The big lot was still sprinkled cars, but I didn’t see Ordell anywhere. I thought about the scripture of “entertaining angels an our midst” and just thanked God for my powerful life lesson.

After reading this I couldn't help to realize that the One who holds all things together is larger than I could ever image, but small enough to squeeze into the knicks and crannies of everyday life.

May you experience great joy no matter what lurks just around the curve of life.

we're all travelers on the road of faith

Today was so beautiful. The sunrise service at Lake Ella was just inspirational. We worshiped in song and prayer in remembrance of the resurrection of Jesus with our family and with family from Watermark and other neighboring churches.

We celebrated God’s restoration project by walking around the Lake and observing all of his creation. It was in the cool of the morning, did we hear the steps of the LORD among us?

Maybe it was the fountain springing forth from the water that gave the sense that we were walking on holy ground or maybe it was the love of our our family enjoying a worship time together or maybe it was both.


At Maclay Gardens we once again returned to remember where it all began, in the garden. As we walked through the rows of flowers and shrubbery, Darla commented, “This must have been what it was like to walk in the way God intended it to be.” I agreed.

Just as we were about to leave, we stopped at the gazebo looking over Lake Hall. We came upon a young man and woman. He was reading a bible, she was leaning back talking on her cell phone. We talked for several minutes about life and God. It was really amazing. We shared our journeys. We realized that all of us knew that there could be something more to this walk of faith than just going to a building once a week. They also were into the Hebraic roots of the Christian faith. As we drew our conversation to an end we prayed and thanked God for his goodness and for Yeshua. It was an amazing time of community. We will continue to remember Tim and his sister Bethany as they walk out their expression of faith and love in their local community.

Today was truly a day that the One who holds all things together has made! Amen

return to the Garden

Last year, as a tribe of the Zoo people, the Winn family made a tradition breaking exploration to celebrate the Day when the way it is in Heaven broke through on earth. It is a day to celebrate, a day when Love covered a multitude of hate, Good defeated evil, and when life conquered death. In America, we call this day Easter.

For the first time in many years, we woke up Easter morning not in a frenzy or frantic pace to adorn ourselves in our newly purchased attire, but in a state of anticipation of what the day might hold for our family. Packing up a basket of food and drinks, we made our way to Maclay Gardens. I had been thinking about how truly brilliant the Creator is, and how he crafted the most life-giving message that began and climaxed in the setting of a garden. So off we set to find ourselves in the story of the garden, literally.

“The LORD God planted a garden toward the east, in Eden; and there He placed the man whom He had formed.” Genesis 2:8

A garden is a place of fully loaded potential. On many levels a garden is a place where something comes from the source of all things. What was once just dirt becomes an incredible organic mystery. The garden is where Hope emerges.

“Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid.” John 19:41

As we roam this earth and see all the death and decay, it is easy to question whether or not all the good, the fully load potential, has been pushed out or destroyed. But alas, Hope is not lost, for someone has restored the original beauty of the garden. He is One.

Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?" Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, "Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take Him away." Jesus said to her, "Mary!" She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!" John 20:15

So once again, we will find our way to Maclay Gardens this Sunday to celebrate the LORD’s Day. With our hopes alive, we will look to find Him, and see that He is with us. With His fully charged potential, we will grow as a one, a family, the core of community.

No matter where you plan to be this Sunday, may you find yourself in the story of the Garden. May the Gardner of souls make His face shine upon you. And may you know his Love once more anew.

catalyst....or......conductor

Actively bringing about a change...or ...Keepin’ it all in line

Catalyst...or ...Conductor

Moses…or …Aaron

Who are you?

the cactus story continues

About nine months ago we started a thread on the Ooze.com labeled "church planting," we had no idea where the journey would take us. There was a post about a Cactus, a wedding gift that Darla and I had been given nearly 14 years ago. The gift was a small cactus in a 5-gallon planter. The cactus saw 9 different homes in our first 10 years of marriage. Needless to say the cactus is a good metaphor for our marriage, sometimes prickly and other times it is the aloe of healing like no other natural remedy.

It wasn't until moving to Tallahassee that we finally planted it in our garden. This picture is the cactus after our surgery some nine months ago when we removed some branches that were too heavy, causing the plant to fall over and to start to uproot itself. It must have really needed pruning.

After removing the branches, we placed them in a wheelbarrow and put them in our garage. It took some very careful preparation and care to deal with these prickly branches. In our marriage, we have also carefully given each other space to grow and grapple with our own thorny inner demons.

Over the last few months the branches have started growing in the wheelbarrow. I am just blown away by how this cactus can grow inside my garage with no water, no soil, and very little sunlight.


Sometimes new growth comes in the most hostile environment. There must be something special inside that cactus that can cause it to withstand being out of its natural habitat. (I can't help but to think our spiritual journey from the "institution of church" into "becoming the church.")

As Darla shared in her post about our oldest daughter giving up "running to home plate," we are really beginning to see growth in our marriage and our children as we have been in this season of "intensive family care." Thank you to the One who wants to heal our souls, our families, and all our relationships. He has done good things for us!

Is this cactus gospel ready to go mobile? Can it be planted into the rich soil of those who want to receive the seed of Jesus and his incredible message of hope and restoration? This is my prayer.

We also planted a couple of sprouts in two more large 5-gallon planters and here is what they look like today.

Every day I walk by the wheelbarrow in the garage and the plants in our garden and I wonder when the time will come to go out and plant more? What are we waiting for? I think we are just scared we are going to mess it up or something... I pray for courage and humility. I pray for wisdom and guidance. Did I mention we also have 5 bags of 40 pound potting soil in our garage too?

noticeably different

“When God delivered Israel from slavery in Egypt, he gathered them together at Mt. Sinai in order to give them the law (the Way). He instructed them, through Moses, about what it meant to be his special people. The law was not a way for Israel to earn God's favor; rather, the law was meant to tell Israel how to live so that they would show the rest of the world what it meant to serve the living and true God. In his Commentary on Exodus, Old Testament Scholar John Durham writes that to be a holy nation meant to be "set apart, different than all the other people by what they ate and what they are becoming, a display people, a showcase to the world of how being in covenant relationship with Yahweh changes people." Allen M. Wakabayashi author of Kingdom Come

You know I always heard the "set apart" as a way of justifying the Christian sub-culture. But now I hear it differently, more as "noticeably different" but still right in the middle of current culture to "put on display" the Way of living in harmony with God and restoring His creation.

“So when God gave Israel laws about how to treat one another and how to treat the alien, the poor, the orphan, and the widow, God did not mean to say, "Ok, you do this; then you get into Heaven." Rather, he meant, "Do this to show the rest of the world what I am like and what I desire for humanity. Act in these ways so that the world knows that I desire loving relationships. Show them that I love the poor, the widow, the orphan, and the alien." The law was meant to reveal the true and living God to the world through his people.” A. Wakabayashi

Sad to say, most of the time I don’t feel “noticeably different,” but I really want to know the Way!