Alive Worship

Sarah and I have been married since June 13, 1998. At the time of this post that makes 19 years! The exclamation is for the sheer disbelief that I am old enough to be married that long and for the fact that after all that time, I know I am more in love with my wife than I ever have been.  If there is one thing I can share after all this time, it is this: a marriage relationship will either transform you or it will end. I am so much different than that 23-year-old punk that married way out of his league 19 years ago. I have had to face my inner demons, I have had to admit fault, I have had to learn what speaks love to my wife, and I have had to submit to the transformation that happens with growing in relational intimacy with another person. Though this journey hasn’t always been easy, I sure am grateful that it isn’t over and that the transformation is continuous. One of the biggest changes that I have noticed is my different personal desires; my marriage relationship has ...

I grew up in the 80’s in a time when many of the horror icons were conceived. I had a big Freddy Kruger poster on my wall when I was in the 5th grade and had seen all the Friday the 13th, Exorcist, Hell Raiser, Phantasm, Puppet Master and Child’s Play films. These films seemed truly terrifying because of the way evil was portrayed.  For the protagonists in these films, evil was such a prevailing force that there seemed little to no chance of overcoming. There simply was no hope. Even when a hero or heroine seemed to beat the bad guy, there was certainly a surprise at the end to show that evil made a way and that all hope was lost.  When it comes to true demonic forces, this simply isn’t the case. In fact, we see all throughout Scripture that whenever Jesus would show up on the scene where there was a demonic presence, there was no real struggle for power. We see that demonic forces were terrified of the Christ and subject to His authority… Every time.  In fac...

Recently, I was meeting with a friend and I could tell he was carrying a lot of stress. He (much like myself) doesn't carry stress very well so it was all over his face. He shared with me all that was going on in his life and he has some very legitimate things pressing in on him that he doesn’t have a lot of control over. I can relate.   I asked him what he does to “fill up.” He didn’t really have a great answer. This idea of being filled is something that I have also been recently challenged with. I’m not talking about filling my schedule, but filling my heart and spirit. The reason for this is simple; life is going to be hard and filled with challenges. If we only nourish our souls with “emotional cotton candy,” we will find ourselves too weak to retain our peace and joy in times of trial.  Take social media. I have found myself at times looking something up on Facebook intending to only be on for a moment… and then an hour passes. What happened? I got sucked in a...

Have you ever reacted so strongly to a situation that it surprised, even embarrassed you? All of us have done this at some point; yelled at someone, dropped a choice word or two, perhaps even reacted in a physical manner hitting a wall or kicking something. We will often hear someone say, “I just lost control.” Where does that come from? We’re never proud of those moments. Yet, we choose them still; sometimes over and over again.  In the world of recovering addicts, people come to the conclusion that they are addicts because of one very challenging reality: they have no control over their impulses. No matter how much they understand that their addiction, whether to gambling, alcohol, drugs, or sex, has ruined their lives and the lives of those they love, they simply can’t stop… In their own strength. Perhaps all of us suffer with addiction to some extent. After all, we have struggle with some sort of behavior we wish we could. change and yet, seem to fall short of all the time...