I wrote down some memories of my time at CFC as I prepare to move to Chicagoland for this semester’s issue of cfcwrites (publication ministry of CFC). Be sure to check out the the full issue here.

Wiping the sweat off my face, I said to myself, “I live among a land of boxes.” That’s what the last couple of weeks have felt like. Combing over Craigslist for free empty boxes, bringing them home, filling them as fast as possible (but not so fast that I would break anything), my family and I have been trying to wrap up 11 years of our lives in Champaign-Urbana. How do you fit 11 years into a room full of boxes? Of course, you can’t but you can try. The thing about packing things away – once in a while, something in your hand triggers a memory and you’re taken to a place of reminiscing, regretting, repenting and/or rejoicing. More »

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It was one of those moments that define who mom and dad are. On a lazy Sunday afternoon, one of my boys snuggled up to my wife, stared into her face all doe-eyed and said, “Mommy, you smell like flowers.” This inspired me to ask, “What does Dad smell like?” “Daddy, you smell like… meat.” I walked away… to take a bath. My interpretation? “Dad, you are like a strong tree that guards the forest and Mommy is the flower that graces it.” A stretch? OK perhaps.

Like flowers, there is something delicate about moms. Some call it the “female touch” referring to that gentle nuance that a mom adds to a family. She has certainly  blunted the rough edges in my life. She’s smoothed  me out more than a little. But there is also something strong about moms too. Like roses with thorns, moms will protect their brood to the end. There is an internal maternal strength that dads can’t begin to understand. Remember guys, it’s your wife that gave birth, not you. More »

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Bob Cousy

Cousy had mentioned that he could see the lamp on the side table, the lamp positioned a good 30 to 40 degrees behind his left flank. He could see it, he said, while staring straight ahead at you. He had not mentioned this in any boastful context. He had merely been delineating matter-of-factly the skills that allowed him to rule the National Basketball Association through the ’50s and ’60s from his position in the backcourt of the Boston Celtics. Among those skills were his ability to see the narrow apertures in the defense and exploit them before they evanesced, and the uncanny knack for throwing those passes that led people to say that the Cooz had “eyes in the back of his head.” More »

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My wife read “The Giving Tree” by Shel Silverstein to my oldest daughter for the first time when she was five. The story is about a tree who keeps giving selflessly to the boy, hence the title. At the end of the story she peered over to my little girl who was crying. Tears flowed down her little cheeks at this beautiful story of a boy and a tree.

On this Good Friday, I keep thinking about our Giving God. Withholding nothing, pouring everything, He is the ultimate giver. And our eyes should fill with tears at his generous love.

Jesus gave us his truth. Jesus gave us his healing. Jesus gave us his service. Jesus gave us his tears. Jesus gave us his body. Jesus gave us Himself. More »

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Michael Card was the first Christian artist I was exposed to during my non-Christian HS years. A timid looking guy in my bio class gave me a tape to listen to as a way to evangelize to me. I think it was called “Present Reality”. Strangely enough I took it and listened to it on my Walkman (remember those) and I liked it. It grabbed me in a different way. The music was kind of interesting but it was the words that did it. They gripped me.

Here’s a song by Michael Card I’ve been thinking about during this Passion Week. Speaking about Judas he sings, “Why did he use a kiss to show them. That’s not what a kiss is for. Only a friend can betray a friend. A stranger has nothing to gain. And only a friend comes close enough to ever cause so much pain.” In John 13, Jesus does not skip Judas when washing the disciples’ feet. Jesus’ love is not wavered by Judas’ betrayal. But shockingly, Judas goes ahead with his betrayal even after seeing a display of such love and servanthood. Judas’ betrayal is not wavered by Jesus’ love. More »

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I’ve posted this video before, sorta. This is a different version I stumbled upon while reading Justin Taylor’s blog. Stylistically, I like it better than the old version I put up.

More importantly, I’ve found that praying along with the video is really great. Even if you just mutter “Yes You are!” after each line, it does wonders for your soul as you say confirm who Jesus is.

The words are posted under the video in case you want to reflect on them. May it drive us closer to His Word, closer to His heart.

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This is a day late (since it’s Tuesday morning) but on Monday of Passion Week it’s recorded that Jesus opens a can of whoop on those that have turned the temple into a “den of robbers” when it’s really supposed to be a “house of prayer”. We like this raging Jesus. However, we rarely catch what he does afterward–teach. Reformation is always two-pronged: clear the heart and fill the heart. Empty out what is bad and fill it with beautiful Truth.

Luke 19:45-48

Jesus clears our hearts.

⁴⁵Then he entered the temple area and began driving out those who were selling. ⁴⁶“It is written,” he said to them, ” ‘My house will be a house of prayer‘; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

Jesus fills our hearts.

⁴⁷Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him. ⁴⁸Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.

Is your heart cleared with prayer and repentance?

Is your heart filled with his Word?

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