Love them like Jesus

Sunday night on Powertalk we had two calls asking how to respond to their friends who were unbelievers. One was an Atheist and and another, a Muslim.

I believe the real root of their questions was, “How do we convert Atheists and Muslims?”
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Rethinking Mother’s Day

What would it look like if the church were to re-capture the essence of the early Mother’s Day movements?

What would it look like for us to celebrate the imprint of Christ and not Caesar?

This weekend I celebrate my own mother, Laurie’s mother and so many other mothers who have carried the imprint of Christ on their lives — and thus left that impression upon me (and others) as well.

Happy Mother’s Day!

May we all learn to live lives full of love, grace and compassion like only a mother can give.

Fewer chemicals = less cancer

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White House dinner | Photo by crespoluigi

A White House panel is set to release a report today stating something organic fans have been preaching for years — chemicals threaten our bodies.

Nicholas D. Kristof has a preview of the report in the New York Times and shares these main points of the 200-page report:

  • Particularly when pregnant and when children are small, choose foods, toys and garden products with fewer endocrine disruptors or other toxins. (Information about products is at www.cosmeticsdatabase.com or www.healthystuff.org.)
  • For those whose jobs may expose them to chemicals, remove shoes when entering the house and wash work clothes separately from the rest of the laundry.
  • Filter drinking water.
  • Store water in glass or stainless steel containers, or in plastics that don’t contain BPA or phthalates (chemicals used to soften plastics). Microwave food in ceramic or glass containers.
  • Give preference to food grown without pesticides, chemical fertilizers and growth hormones. Avoid meats that are cooked well-done.
  • Check radon levels in your home. Radon is a natural source of radiation linked to cancer.

Have you adjusted your eating to eat more organic, chemical free foods?

I’d love to know what you’re doing.

A final What-A-Study

Me in the morning :: Wednesday's Whatastudy
Wednesday Whatastudy | Self portrait

This morning I wrap up more than 3 years of Wednesday morning What-A-Studies.

What a great time we’ve had. Until last fall Brian (our pastor) led the group. The group then multiplied and some moved to Chick-Fil-A in Waxahachie and a few of us stuck around in Red Oak.

I’ve been facilitating most of the conversations and have richly enjoyed each and every Wednesday morning.

I can only think of a few Wednesdays I’ve missed in the past few years — as it’s a huge highlight of my week.
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Why we enjoy nostalgia

In a post I wrote for We Live Simply yesterday, I was reminded of this column I wrote for The Belton Journal in August 2004. I got a little nostalgic and decided to repost it (with a couple updates) for those who may have missed it.

WWE Wrestlers
Photo by greggocnnell

I’ve noticed something about today’s culture — for many, there’s a strange sense that “back in the day” things used to be different, things used to be better, things used to be amazing.

Back in the day we didn’t have socialist presidents, we didn’t have kids zoned out playing their Nintendo DS’s, we didn’t have teenagers so caught up in text messaging that they don’t know how to talk to their parents at the dinner table.

And with these memories, we’ve begun a never ending search for a better yesterday. A time when the flowers bloomed a bit brighter, the summers were cooler, our skin had less wrinkles, our waistlines were half the size they are now and gas was less than $1 a gallon.
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