Painfully Hopeful

The Tall Ships come to Philly

Yesterday I wrote my sermon, finished up some projects I needed to get done, and hopped on a train with my wife to see the Tall Ships come up the Delaware. It was a fantastic time. I didn’t get to stay for the entire parade, and am bummed by what I had to miss, but…

Delaware Sunset – Beauty after Nature’s Violence

Last night I was in attendance for a Riverview Estates board meeting. As the Board Room is in the basement in the farthest corners of the home we were only vaguely aware of the massive storm which ripped through our area, spawning at least one tornado. When we finished the meeting it was still light…

Unpacking Approaching Shelter

Here is where “stuff” begins to happen. I can honestly say I’ve been ready to start writing some of these passages for week, and I am very glad they have finally arrived. I am looking forward to Jeremy’s arrival at The Ravine. Here’s some thoughts on “Approaching Shelter.” The Tunnel When I was growing up…

Approaching Shelter

For what seemed like hours the party traveled down the tunnel at a pace just brisk enough to leave Jeremy wearied but not winded. The passage was large, and reasonably high, it was also wide enough to comfortably allow traffic to pass in the opposite direction, so Jeremy didn’t feel closed-in. Every so often a…

The Armor of God

“You’ve raped our women, and you are taking over the country…” This is what Dylann Roof is reported to have said to a person who survived his terrorist attack on Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. His goal? He wanted to start a race war. And this is the week we get…

A Spiritual Struggle

Tomorrow is the first Sunday after the horrific attack in Charleston, South Carolina. I will, with many other pastors across the country, be meditating on this terrorist attack in light of the Christian faith. It’s especially poignant in light of the Scripture I’d picked for this week in back in August of 2014, Ephesians 6:10-18…