The great American poet Henry David Thoreau said "If I seem to boast more than is becoming, my excuse is that I brag for humanity rather than for myself." I like that. The truth is most of us who were raised with an expectation of decorum, dignity, and virtue were...
Dear Faith Encouraged TV Friends and Supporters, It's that time of year again, and I wanted to thank you for your faithful partnership with Faith Encouraged TV. We will have a 4th of July Homily, but then we will be away for several weeks and I ask your prayers. Our Daily...
"Now THAT's a real American!" The conversation centered, as all conversations seem to during an election year, on a particular political idea. The enthusiastic judge of what a "true American" really is was thrilled that the talking head on some 24-hour news station agreed with his idea in the...
Ouch! That hurt! It wouldn’t have hurt anymore if he’d actually hit me with his fists. He had confronted me with the reality that my words had so offended his friend that that friend didn’t want anything to do with God anymore. Oh No! I was young and foolish (of...
Weakness is something that I have a particular fear of experiencing. In fact, the older I get, the more I see my fear of appearing "weak" has shaped my choices, usually in an unhealthy way. When you fear being "weak" you find yourself hiding from real weaknesses that never...
American author Laird Barron once said "Mom was all about hellfire and brimstone. Her Old Testament God was a colossal, ancient brute, a maelstrom of blood and fire, of appetite and wrath." Sounds familiar. Our society has been shaped by a narrative, both subtle and overt, about how we think...
The dictionary defines the word “obligation” as “an act or course of action to which a person is morally or legally bound; a duty or commitment.” When I was growing up, my mother taught me that I wasn’t free to do what I wanted until I did what I...
When I was growing up in the Pentecostal church of my youth, a regular theme of sermons I heard was about being "spirit-filled." Our emphasis on the Holy Spirit had everything to do with "living a holy life" and experiencing an intimate relationship with God. By the way, both...
She just rolled her eyes. I'm getting that more and more from my 14-year-old lately! Sure, I had just used one of my old, worn-out Dad sayings, one of my favorites when I say that everyone would be happier if they would all just do as I say! She thinks...
