MetroMonk

May the peace of The Lord be with you.

Empty Space by  Ann Hamilton Can God meet you in the wilderness? Is God out in the desert places? Does God even prepare a table in the wilderness? Sure, maybe, I just never want to wait around long enough to find out. “The Desert” for the the Christian used to mean a literal desert, like the desert where the ancient Hebrew people had to wander.  Today, “desert” has taken on a more figurative meaning. What does a “spiritual desert” mean to you? I know that there are different meanings and interpretations for every single person out there. Sometimes “a desert place” can mean a time period of waiting, other times a literal geographic place of unfamiliarity, even other times it can mean a feeling of being lost - having no idea where to go or how to survive. I can relate to all of those scenarios. I feel like I’m in a desert now, but this time it’s different. It’s longer; it feels more intense; I have no direction, no support; I feel totally alone with no clue how to get ou...

Image not my own I don't know if being drunk makes life better. There are a lot of people that believe this. Being drunk can certainly make a night more fun, but it can also ruin things. I know there are a lot of recovering substance abusers who would agree that the above image is a lie. Read today's scripture: Luke 21:25-36 2 Peter 3:10-13 There will be signs in the sun, moon, and stars. On the earth, there will be dismay among the nations in their confusion over the roaring of the sea and surging waves. The planets and other heavenly bodies will be shaken, causing people to faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world. Then they will see the Human One coming on a cloud with power and great splendor. Now when these things happen, stand up straight and raise your heads because your redemption is near. Jesus told them a parable. "Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that ...

Father help me,   I'm torn,     So torn, The beauty of this world   & You. Hopeless wanderer,   I'm a hopeless wanderer, But you know this,   You know,     You know me. You know all of me,   Father of lights     you know me. I love that,   It's freeing. I don't want anyone to see,   but with you it's different. I feel you,   you fill me.     Fill me more.     Fill me again.     Fill me.     Fill me up. Turn my loneliness to solitude,   My hostility to hospitality, Set my ever wandering eyes   to a gaze, Turn my curiosity to contentment, Turn my usefulness to useful. I have gifts too, I have value too, I have worth, Lord help me,   Use me,     Help. You are the Lord, You are the Lord- Amen! Tweet

Sometimes, just sometimes we are still enough to hear, to listen. What has the Lord spoken to you about lately? I encourage you next time that you are praying and spending devoted time to God, listen and stop in your petitions/requests. The Lord will speak. Listening prayer changes everything. May the peace of the Lord be with you.

My son started kindergarten today. He is my oldest, and today, like most kids, he started school. He was so excited today (what a blessing for me), but there is also some apprehension within me. I believe it's natural for that fear to be there. Will he be ok? Will other kids be nice? Will he be bullied? Will he be scared? Will he get embarrassed? There are so many things that could happen, BUUUTTT , I can't really let that fear control me. I must breathe. Inhale. Exhale.  Today my son starts a new school in a new place that we just moved to 3 weeks ago. Getting here (to NC) has been quite the faith journey and story. The Lord has been with us the whole way- in big ways and little. I believe he's with my son as well as the rest of the children in school. He's with all of us. He's near, so very near. I was thinking, shortly after I dropped him off, about some of the great ironies of parenting. For instance, the first 0-6 years of life for a child are...

Sometimes faith makes no sense. At the same time, faith doesn't always transcend experience and reason. God is reasonable, and sometimes, he is not. Right? It is definitely true that the Lord speaks to use through common sense and knowledge, but what happens when what you feel and hear make no logical sense?  This is what has been happening to me and my family. But this post isn't about trying to make sense of it or trying to explain faith- this post is about my decision to LIVE OUT LOUD.  When we began this journey to move I really didn't want to tell anyone. I just wanted to head out at the 11th hour and tell people once I had everything all figured out, but nothing went according to my plan. Looking back on it, I suppose the Lord did answer my prayer and have his way. People found out. Everyone found out it seemed. Random people my wife and I never really talked to came up to us and said, "so I hear you're moving." We were surprised at how fast the ...

Seven seems to be a special number for me. I don't know why, but it is what it is. After seven years with the Young Life organization in Libertyville, IL, I decided to just up and change everything. Libertyville will always be my first love, but people thought I was crazy. I had poured my heart into that place. I had great friends and everything, but I felt Lord stirring and so my wife and I decided to uproot and plant some place else- a place where we did not know. Unfortunately, our decision was not met positively. My friends and colleagues thought I was foolish and some were even angered with me. However, it was a decision heavily steeped in prayer. It was a hard decision, but Lord was moving within us and we were certain of that.  The Lord led us to Midland, MI. I have a lot I could say about Midland, MI, but all in all, it turned out to be a pleasant surprise. Midland will always be a very important chapter in my life. We bought our 1st house, have had two wonder...

This is my journey. I'd rather look back on the journey that I'm currently on and tell you all how crazy it all was, how I was scared and full of anxiety, how I didn't know what life would be like in a month from now, and how God made everything come together and it was great. I would like to, but that's not how I'm approaching this time in my life. I want to share a front seat  It's all been so backwards. This is how we did it- we told our employers we're moving, we sold our house, we moved into a short-term lease apartment (oh, we move out a week from today, because out lease it up), and we have no jobs and no place to go.  Usually it would go like this- Our employer is transferring or relocating us (so we know we have a job some place else), we start looking for a place to live, we have a definitely end date in mind, we move and we know where we're going. Thus, there's some security in mind.  Why would we do this? (By the way, the ...

Almighty God, on this day (the day of Pentecost) you opened the way of eternal life to every race and nation by the promised gift of your Holy Spirit; Shed abroad this gift throughout the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen Tweet