Snapshots and Synapses

Then we will no longer be little children, tossed and carried about by all kinds of teachings that change like the wind. We will no longer be influenced by people who use cunning and clever strategies to lead us astray. Instead, as we lovingly speak the truth, we will grow up completely in our relationship to Christ, who is the head. ~ Ephesians 4:14-15   Speaking the truth in love sounds easy, but in practice it can be really hard. It can be hard to speak truth, fearful of how it will be received, and it can be hard to speak in a loving fashion when the truth can seem so obvious or when it’s being casually disregarded. But God made us to live in truth and love, to speak truth to others with love in our hearts. As I wrote this, I felt concern that my words could hurt people I care about: friends, colleagues and relatives. I don’t want to bludgeon anyone with the truth, but I don’t want to be unclear about the whole truth, explained if you read through to the end . There are many mo...

I haven’t written in a while because I’ve been trying to form my thoughts for a topic that I’ll post later this month, and like our society in general have considered Father’s Day only as an afterthought. Our society celebrates Mothers pretty easily, and that’s a good thing. But it seems harder to celebrate fathers. Why is that? The message at our church today was a really good one but reflecting upon the content I realized that it was mostly describing fatherhood wounds, the impact of a bad father figure and how God brings restoration. So I could choose to write about the qualities of a good father, and that would also be a good thing to share, but instead I thought it might be better to share my challenges as a father. Assuming that others may be challenged in similar ways, maybe someone would benefit from knowing that we’re not alone. As the father of five children, I know I’ve made mistakes and that I’ve also done the right thing. No one is perfect as a parent, and that shouldn’t...