Sometimes it amazes me to see how much my young children can teach me about genuinely worshipping with a pure heart. The other day my three-year-old son was babbling as I rolled him through Wal-Mart in my grocery cart. We had just celebrated his birthday, and I guess you could say he was on […]
Read more "“Happy Birthday, Daddy” – What My 3-Year-Old Taught Me About Worship"I was excited to discover that January is National Hot Tea Month! Though my wife and I have recently developed a taste for good coffee, I’ve found solace in a good cup of tea since my early college years. It all started during my first teaching trip to Mainland China in the Summer of […]
Read more "Celebrating Hot Tea Month – 5 Songs to Soothe Your Soul"If I were asked to sum up the rich meaning of Christmas in one word, it would be “Emmanuel.” This year, more than any other, I’ve found myself surrounded by this name in Christmas songs and on Christmas cards, and I just haven’t been able to keep my mind off of reflecting on […]
Read more "Emmanuel – Christmas in a Nutshell"What is the most haunting Christmas carol you have ever heard? There are countless Christmas songs and carols being trumpeted over the airwaves this season, but none capture the poignancy of Christ’s birth as well as the old folk song, I Wonder As I Wander. So where exactly did this song come from? That […]
Read more "“I Wonder As I Wander” – A Haunting, Beautiful Reminder at Christmas"Having someone watch your every move is typically considered to be a negative experience, but it’s not so with God. Knowing that He watches us each moment, knows our every thought, and guides our every step brings an incredible sense of joy and lasting peace. This past Sunday morning my wife and I led […]
Read more "Thankful for His Watchfulness"A senior adult shared the above cartoon with me a few weeks ago. He thought it was funny, but I wasn’t laughing. I’ve also heard a guest speaker at a ministry luncheon tell a similar joke, and while the older adults in the room laughed away, I noticed that all of the young people […]
Read more "Worship War Weariness"It is no accident that Sunday mornings, which are to be set aside for quiet reverence and intimate worship with God, always end up feeling frantic and exhausting. Yesterday was no different. Here’s a little peek at my morning yesterday: 5:00 a.m. – Jump out of bed and rush to get dressed and ready […]
Read more "Experiencing Worship in Daily Trials"This weekend was, as usual, a wonderful one – and full of mistakes! While I wish I was the kind of person who always did things the right way the first time, nothing could be further from the truth. Every time I turn around I’m messing something up, or having something blow up in […]
Read more "Meaningful Mistakes"A few Sundays ago we had a baptism, and I found myself needing to fill in some empty space with music while the pastor prepared backstage. Without thinking, I flipped to one of my favorite hymns, Come Thou Fount, and led the congregation in singing it. As we drove to lunch after the service, my […]
Read more "Monday Meditation – A Song for My Funeral…"We had an awesome worship service yesterday morning – the kind where God just shows up and makes His presence known. Our youth recently came back from Summer Camp, so yesterday we had a Youth Service just for them. We baptized six students who gave their lives to Jesus at camp, and there were many […]
Read more "Monday Meditation – “Jesus Is Better”"
The Artistic Christian 