A Marker Stone from ICON — September 6, 2026 Yesterday, during the praise service at ICON, several thoughts began gathering around me. At first, they seemed separate. But this morning, I can see them becoming one. He is the Root of David. I have often thought of Jesus as the Son of David—the One whoContinue reading “A Root Beneath Us, a Fragrance Above Us”
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Physically Eighty-Eight – Spiritually Fifty-Two
September 8th was my birthday. Not the birthday recorded on my birth certificate. That one says I am eighty-eight years old. This is another kind of birthday. On September 8, 1974, fifty-two years ago today, I began my Christian journey. Physically, I am eighty-eight. Spiritually, I am fifty-two. I was thirty-six when the Lord spokeContinue reading “Physically Eighty-Eight – Spiritually Fifty-Two”
The Robe from the Father’s House
I keep seeing the robe. The prodigal son comes home wearing the evidence of the far country. His robe is dusty from the road. It carries the odor of the pigpen. It is stained by wrong choices, wasted years, broken promises, and everything he experienced while living far from his father. He has rehearsed hisContinue reading “The Robe from the Father’s House”
I Still Have a Dream
Four years ago, when I was eighty-four, I wrote a reflection called I Have a Dream I wrote about Abraham leaving familiar country for a land he had never seen. I wrote about Moses and Joshua—men whose greatest assignments did not arrive when they were young. And I wrote about being a late bloomer. I earnedContinue reading “I Still Have a Dream”
Both Doors Say Go
Graduation, Commencement, and the Work That Continues We have rain this morning. Wonderful, soaking rain—the trailing gift of a tropical storm. After the long Texas heat, I listened to it and found myself saying aloud: “Thank You, Lord!” Perhaps the rain is partly responsible for my moving a little more slowly today. Rainy mornings seemContinue reading “Both Doors Say Go”
Don’t Rush Past This
When God Interrupts the Plan A worship leader named Jennifer Whitlock wrote something that stopped me this morning: “I never want to get so good at following the plan that I forget how to let God interrupt it.” She described those moments during worship when something almost imperceptible shifts in the room. A lyric suddenlyContinue reading “Don’t Rush Past This”
God Does Not Need Our Swagger
Meekness, Might, and the Strength We Keep Misunderstanding Two statements crossed my path recently. The first explained Jesus’ words, “Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth,” by saying that the Greek word praus was a military term for a warhorse trained to charge into battle without panic. The meek, it said, are extremely dangerousContinue reading “God Does Not Need Our Swagger”
Hanging In There
The God Who Notices Splinters We have been home from Alaska for one week. It has been a good week. Or perhaps I should say it has been a successful week. Those are not always exactly the same thing. Two prison messages have been delivered at the Chapel of Hope. The first was on theContinue reading “Hanging In There”
This morning I have been remembering.
Maybe that is one of the privileges of being eighty-eight. You can sit with a cup of coffee and suddenly discover that something you haven’t thought about in fifty years has wandered back into the room. This particular wandering started several days ago with a movie, Song Sung Blue, and a question: What did you wannaContinue reading “This morning I have been remembering.”
Yesterday afternoon, it started with music.
Tanya and I were home again after our Alaska trip, still trying to convince our bodies that Texas time is the time that matters. We were listening to classical guitar on YouTube. One song led to another. Later we watched Song Sung Blue, the story of two ordinary people with rather extraordinary dreams. They wanted toContinue reading “Yesterday afternoon, it started with music.”
Spiritual Wanderings 