Painfully Hopeful

New Paths

As the group grew nearer to Water Gap’s main gate Jeremy began to notice some familiar sites. Homes faded to the background, and the shops and cafes he’d noticed his first night in the town replaced them. He wished again he would have some time to further explore the city. As the street became wider…

Focal Points

I’ve spent much of my Christian life in churches which have been shrinking for decades, and that’s colored my understanding of what it means to be a part of the Church. What I’ve discovered, however, is that’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s helped train me to help encourage positive change. There is a trap…

The Gospel in stained glass – Baptism

Jesus’ baptism is, perhaps, one of the most underplayed elements of the Gospel story. Christians seem to enjoy focusing on the amazing willpower of Jesus in resisting the Devil’s temptations in the wilderness, and so gloss over this watershed moment. We shouldn’t do that. Jesus’ baptism is generally regarded as the start of his public…

Stained Glass – Resurrection

This is the center panel of the stained glass window in Central Baptist’s sanctuary. The whole front window is, to me, some of the most fantastic stained glass I’ve ever seen – but this center panel is the most striking. This is as things should be. It is, after all, Jesus’ resurrection. There’s a lot…

Storm Front

I love the look of the clouds as a new front of thunderstorms rolls in. The sky becomes split between bright and fluffy and the ominously powerful dark of the approaching storm. As the approaching front draws near, sunlight begins to refract in interesting ways. My favorite moment is when the light turns thick and…

Recovering from a “Three Day Weekend”

I’ve determined that I don’t much care for three day weekends. Actually, that’s not quite true, I kind of enjoy the fun of three day weekends. What I don’t like is the aftermath. As an introvert, I have a finite amount of energy to expend dealing with other human-beings 1. When that reserve is used…